Unspoken
by endymion015
Summary: Snow hides everything beneath sleek whiteness, about an unspoken love. Contains OC. You have been forewarned.
1. Newbie

CHAPTER 1 

"What were you thinking, punk!" an angry driver's voice yelled as he braked in time to let a drowsy biker pass.

Oh. That drowsy biker? He's one of the most popular highschool basketball players in the Kanagawa prefecture. Rukawa Kaede.

Exhausted from the month-long Interhigh basketball competition and training with the All-Japan team, Rukawa Kaede took a few days off from school. Though it may seem much to anyone else, it wasn't that big a loss to Rukawa. He didn't care much about schoolwork anyway.

He spent his first two days eating and sleeping. But on the third day, he actually got up and out of the house. He had gotten tired of the old place and decided to take his bike out for a ride.

For the whole morning, he rode wherever his bike took him, his trusty Walkman hanging on his waist. For lunch, he had gone to a noodle house to eat. Passersby who recognized him stopped by occasionally to shake his hand, or ask for an autograph, or just stare at him. He was famous after all, known as Shohoku's Ace or Super Rookie. These antics of his so-called fans just struck him as incredibly annoying. He was pretty fed up with the girls in his school who always shrieked at the sight of him, too. He never really wanted these. A quiet nap and a satisfying game of basketball were enough to please him.

Feeling sleepy once again, he slapped a handful of coins on the counter and went back on his bicycle. Besides being one of the best players in the prefecture, Rukawa Kaede was known for one other thing—falling asleep anywhere without regard to time or place.

Like right now, as he was rounding around a corner, his eyelids were drooping ever lower, although he still pumped his legs to pedal his bike. He would've fallen asleep right then and there, if not for an unfortunate incident.

_WHAM_!

His bike had collided into someone on a skateboard and he fell onto the sidewalk.

"_Oi! Daijobu?_" (Hey! You OK?)

Rukawa ran a hand through his jet-black hair grumpily. '_Nobody gets away from destroying my sleep' _he thought, anger swelling up inside.

He got up on his feet, stood up to his full-height to see the dimwit who woke him up. He was utterly surprised (though his face remained emotionless) to see a girl standing there.

"_Daijobu_?" she repeated.

Rukawa's anger faltered. He didn't want to hit female, no matter how annoyed he was. She looked up at him over her dark sunglasses and off an earphone under her backwards cap.

'_A Walkman?'_ Rukawa thought blankly. She blew out a pink bubble and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yo, are you _deaf_ or what?" she snapped impatiently.

"I'm fine," he grunted.

"Hey, you're Rukawa, aren't you?" she said, cracking her gum. She eyed the tall boy with sudden recognition. "Number 11 Shohoku right?"

Rukawa just nodded.

"I knew I've seen you somewhere before," she told him. "I've seen you play. You're pretty good."

'_Pretty good?' _That had caught him off-guard. Not only did this girl _not_ swoon, sigh or giggle at the sight of him, she also described him as _pretty good_, which was the understatement of the century. Anyone who has seen Rukawa play would say he's incredible, at the very least.

"You sure you're OK?" she asked again.

He nodded.

"Good," she said. "Shohoku can't afford an injured ace, or that idiot Sakuragi will let it go to his head."

The image of the red-headed amateur Sakuragi Hanamichi popped into his head saying his favorite line ('_Orewa tensai _basket-man!' I am the genius basketball-man) followed by manic laughter, not knowing that the girl was thinking the exact same thing.

"_Do aho,_(Asshole)" they said at the same time, with the exact same expression.

The girl let out a soft, catching laugh. Then she flipped her skateboard back onto the ground. "Well, I guess I'll just see you around."

She skated off, leaving a very puzzled Rukawa behind.

A/N: so what did you think? this is just the first chapter and sort of a preview. Please review! _Arigato gozaimasu, minna!_


	2. Jacket

**Unspoken CHAPTER 2**

**-endymion-**

_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and any of its characters do not belong to me._

* * *

Rukawa looked out of the glass segment on the door, his chin propped up on the desk, blankly wondering why he had chosen to go back to school and attend this boring class.

"Rukawa Kaede?" the teacher called out just as he was about to doze off.

He turned his gaze at him, annoyed. "_Nani?_"

"Answer the question please," the teacher looked somewhat irked, but Rukawa didn't even bother to stand up. He and the teacher just glared at each other. The whole class was looking at him, some with disbelief, others with admiration.

The sensei opened his mouth to speak once more, but then, the classroom door slid open. The principal stepped in, followed closely by a girl. Her mane of long dark hair was twisted into braids and her sharp emerald green eyes studied the room closely. Silver hoop earrings dangled on both her ears. The boys were quickly drawn to her, mainly because she was a decent looking piece of fresh meat. Unexpectedly, even Rukawa, but for a different reason. Through a haze of sleepiness, he thought her face was quite familiar...

"_Minna,_(Everyone) this is Watanabe Reika," the principal told the class. "I'll leave her in your hands, Akari-sensai."

"Hai, wakarimashta," Akari-sensei bowed to the principal's retreating back, completely forgetting about scolding Rukawa. "Watanabe-san, please tell us a little something about yourself."

"Err..is it really necessary?" Watanabe asked.

"In order for us to get to know you, yes," Akari-sensei replied.

"Well...Okay," she said, giving a reluctant smile before taking a deep breath. "Hi. I'm from Honshu. We came here because of..." she paused, as though choosing her words. "...my mother's business. So I'm not sure how long I'm staying. Nice to meet you all."

She looked around the classroom and caught Rukawa's eyes. Her smile widened to a grin. Rukawa's eyebrows flew up, wondering why on earth this newbie was grinning at him.

The girls started whispering amongst themselves. The boys looked like they had all died and gone to heaven, though.

"It's nice to have you in my class, Watanabe-san. Please take your seat," the teacher pointed out an empty seat to her.

"_Arigato gozaimasu_," she said before going to claim her seat. She slumped down in her chair with a sigh and promptly started to doodle on a notebook.

The lesson continued again, but no one seemed to participate anymore.

All eyes were on Watanabe.

* * *

Reika sighed as she stepped into the ladies room. It was lunchtime, and the boys had pestered her non-stop until she gave up and went into hiding.

"You're new around here aren't you?"

Reika whirled around and saw a pretty, older girl.

"_Hai_,(Yes)" Reika replied. "How did you know?"

"I've never seen you around before," the girl said with a smile, pulling back her long dark curls into a ponytail. "Good luck with those boys. They can get as rabid as the Oendans."

"Oendans?" Reika looked puzzled. "What the heck are those?"

The girl gave a dismissive wave of hand. "So you're not one of them yet."

"No," Reika said slowly. "Who are they?"

"Rukawa Kaede's fan club and personal cheering team," the girl chuckled. "They never failed to attend a practice or a game as long as Rukawa's in it."

"How'd you know all that? You're not one of them are you?" Reika asked her incredulously.

The girl laughed. "Of course not. My name's Ayako, I'm the Shohoku Basketball Team's manager."

"_Hontou?_" Reika's features lit up with a smile. "Can I go watch you guys practice? I just love basketball. I watch the Highschool basketball games all the time. And I think this year's team has improved a lot."

"Is that so?" Ayako looked pleased. "Sure, you can come by anytime. Practice starts at four. Unless you have plans for a date with some boy."

Reika snorted. "Heck no. The dating game's not my scene, know what I mean?"

Ayako nodded. "So, I'll see you later—"she prompted for the younger girl's name.

"Reika," she supplied. "Later."

Ayako gave her one last smile before strolling off.

* * *

Rukawa walked quickly from the locker room towards the gym in hopes of getting there first. He had really wanted to catch up on the practices he had missed. He knew it was his fault he missed all those chances to play but, hey! The guy's only human. A very grouchy, anti-social human, but a human nonetheless.

When he was almost there, he heard the squeak of rubber shoes on the court and the _bump bumping_ of a basketball being dribbled.

Disappointed, he entered the gym and threw his bag along the wall. Must be one of his _senpai. _He turned towards the court and he felt his eyebrows rise.

"Watanabe?" he said softly, upon seeing the girl. Something clicked in his brain and then he understood.

So _that's_ why the new girl looked familiar. She was the bonehead who crashed into him the day before.

She didn't notice him standing there. She was so absorbed in playing by herself, doing feints, faking passes and a few lay-ups. She ran past the line, took aim, did a jump shot—

The ball rolled around the ring and fell out.

"_Kuso!_" she cursed angrily. "Friggin three-pointers..."

She went to pick up the ball and straightened back up. This time, she finally noticed Rukawa.

"I didn't think practice would start until four," she said without so much as a hello, as she walked toward him dribbling the ball. She looked the same as she did the yesterday; sweaty, red-faced, hair in ponytail and minus the hoop earrings.

"What are you doing here?" he grumbled.

Reika raised an eyebrow. "I'm setting up a brain auction, would you want to bid?" she rolled her eyes. Honestly, some people needed to reoil their head cogs. "What else am I supposed to do in a _basketball_ court?"

"Hn," Rukawa grunted, starting his warm-up exercises. Stupid, feisty bitch.

"Oh, hey, it's OK to use the gym right? I mean, it's school property but—"

"It's OK," Rukawa interrupted.

"I see," Reika sighed. "I'm just really addicted to basketball and I miss playing in a team so much," she said then passed the ball suddenly to Rukawa. Reflexively, he caught it with his two hands. "But I haven't had much time to play lately."

"How long have you been playing?" he wanted to know. He passed the ball back to her.

"Since—I don't know. Forever I suppose," she replied, dribbling the ball with her left hand. "It has always been my life. It must sound pretty stupid, coming from a girl, I know, but it's true. My mom really can't understand why I like this boy's sport so much..."

'_It's always been my life...'_ these words echoed in his mind as Reika chattered on and on.

"I heard you have your own fan club," Reika went on, throwing the ball back to him one more time. "I guess you're pretty popular around here, huh?"

"I don't like those noisy girls," Rukawa said, throwing the ball back to her. She caught it and dribbled it with hands of an expert in silence.

"Say, wanna do a game?" she said all too suddenly.

"Game?"

"Yeah, one on one, you and me? How about it?"

Rukawa stole the ball from her. "I don't have time to fool around."

He ran toward the goal post and did a jump shot, but Reika somehow got in front of him, snatched the ball away before it flew too high and dribbled it once again. "I am _not_ going to take no for an answer."

Rukawa ignored her and tapped the ball out of her grip and went for another goal.

The ball soared through the air but then Reika jumped up and touched it with her fingertips. It had ruined the ball's aim. It bounced off the ring and she grabbed the rebound.

When she turned back around Rukawa had already started to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Reika yelled. No answer. Anger swelled within her.

She hurled the basketball at Rukawa's head. He turned around instantly, still feeling a little dizzy. The impact of the collision had jiggled his head a bit.

"Chicken!" she glared at him, her green eyes flashing.

That got him. Only Sakuragi dares call Rukawa Kaede names, but even he never called him a _chicken_. "All right, you're on!"

The game began. Rukawa and Reika did one play after another, doing their best feints, shots and steals.

After the first five minutes, the score was 10-6, in Rukawa's favor.

'_Damn...I can't get through his defense,_' Reika cursed under her breath. She got her first two scores because Rukawa's guard was still a little loose. He thought the first one was beginner's luck and he underestimated her speed, thus ensuring her second goal. He tightened his guard after the second goal, finally getting the fact that she was,in fact, a good player. She hasn't scored since.

Though. she didn't let him score that easily either, his height was a definite disadavantage to her.

She dribbled the ball, calculating her next step. She had been studying his movements. She faked to the left.

_An opening! _She thought, triumphant. She broke into Rukawa's defense and scored an easy lay-up.

'_That's odd...why isn't he picking up the ball?' _Reika thought upon landing.

She whirled around and faced a full gym that suddenly burst with applause. While they were busy playing, the whole team had come in, together with Anzai-sensei, Ayako and almost half the school.

"Nice going Rukawa!" the other team members applauded loudly.

"_Rukawa, Rukawa, L-O-V-E, Rukawa!!!_" the Oendan girls screeched, staring menacingly at Reika. Reika caught his eye and he shrugged. The two of them stepped off the court and onto the sidelines.

Ayako looked excited. "I didn't know you were such a good player!"

"A very good one, indeed," Anzai-sensei said followed by his trademark jolly laugh.

"_Oi_ Fox-face!" Hanamichi yelled at Rukawa. "You can't even score against a chick! Guess you're losing your touch! Unlike me, the Tensai!"

"_Do aho_," Rukawa muttered. The redhead said far too much.

"Rukawa-kun, I didn't know you had girls on your priority list," Hisashi Mitsui said, looking very amused. How often do you see Rukawa _this _close with any other girl but Ayako, who was his schoolmate in Junior High?

"It was an excellent game," Ryota Miyagi remarked. Then he turned to Ayako blushing crazily with a goofy grin. "Ne, Aya-chan?"

"It sure was," Ayako agreed, pointedly ignoring Miyagi's lovesick stare. "Where did you learn to play that well?"

"My dad taught me," Reika waved a hand casually.

"Too bad we don't have a women's team here," a short-haired freshman spoke up before Ayako could ask Reika.

"Haruko-chan!" Sakuragi exclaimed, his already-pink face growing pinker.

"Reika, this is Haruko, the ex-captain's sister and my assistant," Ayako said.

"You're a freshman too, right?" Reika smiled at her.

"Yes," Haruko smiled back, nodding. "Rukawa-kun is a marvelous player and you matched up to him. You must be living and breathing basketball too."

"Thank you, but no, I don't live and breathe basketball." Reika shook her head with a laugh. Then she turned to Rukawa. "Rukawa-kun, that was a fun. I hope we get to do a real game soon."

She stood up and started to walk away.

"You mean you're leaving?" Haruko asked her.

"You said you wanted to watch our practice," Ayako looked puzzled.

"Oh, I will," Reika said. "I just wanted to take a quick shower in the locker rooms first. I feel really hot."

"That she is," one of the team members whispered.

"I can show you the way to the girls' locker room if you want," another one said.

"I'll come too!" yet another one piped up.

Reika raised an eyebrow. "Uh, thanks guys but I know my way."

"Oh, OK," they said looking disappointed.

She sauntered off, her poinytail boucing along.

"I suppose we'll have a Watanabe Oendan Boys soon," Anzai-sensei laughed.

"She's not that great," Miyagi and Hanamichi said together and turned to look at Ayako and Haruko in perfect synch.

"She's pretty cool," Mitsui remarked as he did stretches on the floor. "Let's see. Beautiful, tall, _and _basketball player. She's not even one of the Oendans. What more could you ask for? "

"Don't tell me you have a crush on her now, Micchi," Sakuragi sneered, poking his senior's back repeatedly.

"I don't," Mitsui shrugged. "I was just -_stop_ poking me Sakuragi- pointing out the obvious. And besides, I wouldn't want to steal Rukawa's girl." He smirked at Rukawa.

Rukawa merely grunted in response.

"People, that's enough! Time for practice!" Team Captain Ryota Miyagi clapped his hands for attention. He had spent the last few minutes shooing out the people who weren't of any importance to the team. He turned to Rukawa, who sat on a bench, guzzling down water. "Rukawa, you up to it?"

Rukawa nodded in a more subdued manner than his usual.

And he stayed that way all throughout practice.

* * *

"Good job everyone!" Miyagi yelled at the end of practice. "You may all go home now!"

"Hai!"

The boys made their way out of the gym leaving the three girls and Anzai-sensei behind.

"Ne, Aya-chan, Haruko-chan, I think I'd better go ahead," Reika said, picking up her backpack. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"OK. I still have to wait for my Ayako anyway," Haruko smiled.

"Take care of yourself, OK?" Ayako said, looking up from the first-aid kit she was arranging.

"Ja ne!" Reika waved before leaving the gym.

She was humming a tune while walking out of the school's gates when a gust of wind blew. It wasn't very strong, but it was cold.

'_I'm such an airhead_'she thought, feeling stupid for wearing a sleeveless shirt instead of a sweater. She rubbed her hands on her arms, shivering slightly. '_I'll have to listen to kaasan next time._'

"It must be nearly autumn," she murmured to no one in particular, looking up at the slowly darkening sky. Time flew by so fast. '_Too fast_' she thought sadly.

"Watanabe-san."

Reika turned around and saw Rukawa holding out his red and black varsity jacket. One foot on the ground, the other on the pedal of his umpteenth new bike. Why he kept on buying new bikes was a mystery to everyone. Because of his habit of falling asleep while biking, he always destroyed them after a few days' use.

She looked at him, surprise and confusion evident in her face. "Thanks," she said, gratefully taking it. "You sure you won't need it? It's awfully cold out."

"I'll be fine," he said curtly before turning left and disappearing around the curb.

She wrapped the jacket around her more tightly. She took a deep breath faintly noticing that Rukawa smelled nice, judging from the scent of his jacket.

"Rukawa Kaede..." she whispered. "How strange you are..."

_-to be continued-_

* * *

Author's Babbles:

Another chapter of OC cliché done! Gomen gomen if the plot is so common! Noob writer here, so please bear with me! I wrote this loooooooooong ago and had no idea how washed up some OC plots are.

Gomen in advance if I can't update regularly. I would have to rewrite some of the chapters and scenes, but I promise to try my best! Oh, and each chapter would be fairly short too...

Mucho Arigatou to those who reviewed and to those who'll give this one a chance!! Please r n r again!

Til Next chapter!


	3. Secret

UNSPOKEN CHAPTER 3 

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

The next morning, Rukawa went to school earlier than usual. He had opened the gym to practice by himself. He had been there for about twenty minutes when he heard the gym door slide open.

"Oi, kitsune-otoko." It was Sakuragi. The redhead sauntered towards Rukawa and thrust a paperbag at him.

Rukawa stared at the paperbag blankly. Why on earth is this monkey giving him a present?

"Just take the freakin' bag would you? I haven't got time to hang with you all day," Sakuragi said, slamming it onto Rukawa's chest. "It's not from me. That newbie told me to give this to you, coz she won't be able to attend class today. Here."

Rukawa tore open the bag. Inside was his jacket and a small note that said _Thanks. _He stared at the neat handwriting for a while before pocketing the note.

Just then the bell shrilled for the first class.

"I'm going to class. Are you coming?" Sakuragi shoved his hands in his pocket and started to leave.

He shook his head. "Later."

"Ja, see you at practice" Sakuragi said.

* * *

Reika excused herself from the principal's office with a polite goodbye. She had to drop by the office to tell her principal she won't be able to come to class and asked for an excuse slip. After that she went to find Rukawa so she could give him his jacket back, but with no luck. But she _did_ bump into Sakuragi so she asked him a favor instead.

She shut the door behind her and made her way towards the school's exit. Halfway towards it, a group of girls blocked her path. She could tell that this would _not_ be a friendly confrontation by the way these girls were looking at her.

"What?" she asked them, raising an eyebrow. They all looked pissed off and annoyed. '_So these are the infamous Oendans... _she thought, taking note of the bands on their foreheads.

The three girls in front glared at her.

"We saw you play with Rukawa."

"We saw you talk to him."

"How dare you?!"

"Who do you think you are?!"

"_Newbie!_"

They closed in on her, cornering her until her back pressed up against the wall.

"What are you _talking_ about?" she snapped. '_These girls are clearly bonkers' _she thought disgracefully.

"We want you to stay away from Rukawa."

"Yeah. You already managed to bewitch every guy around here, so why not leave him to us?"

On of them raised her hand to slap her. She clenched her fist, ready to block the slap but then a voice interrupted.

"Watanabe-san?" Mitsui had somehow appeared behind the girls.

"Mitsui-sempai," Reika looked surprised.

He looked around at the girls. "Why don't you leave her alone and go do something that will actually please people?"

One by one, the girls started to leave, grumbling. The three leaders shot Reika a dirty look before stalking away.

"You OK?" he asked her.

"I was doing just fine before you showed up, but thank you all the same," she said, blushing lightly. Then she noticed something wasn't quite right. "Sempai, what are you doing in the freshman wing?"

"Had to go down to the office," he shrugged. "Where are _you _going? Your classroom is the other way right?"

"Err...yeah," Reika said, biting her lip. "I can't go to class today. It's a...uhh..family thing."

"Oh, all right then," Mitsui shrugged. "Come on, I'll walk with you."

The two of them walked down the corridor, Mitsui towards the staircase and Reika towards the exit. They neared the staircase, then suddenly, Rukawa appeared out of nowhere. His azure eyes went from Reika to Mitsui.

"_Oi_ Rukawa. Why don't you tell your fan club to lay off Watanabe?" Mitsui asked him gruffly.

"Sempai, it wasn't a big deal," Reika cut in, laying a hand on Mitsui's shoulder.

Rukawa ignored them and walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Darn Rukawa. He has such a big ego," Mitsui said, still looking at Rukawa's retreating back.

"Aww c'mon sempai," Reika said when they finally reached the staircase. "It's not _that_ big."

Mitsui laughed. "This is my stop. I'll see you later Watanabe. Good luck on that family thing of yours."

"_Arigatou gozaimasu, sempai,_" Reika bowed slightly

"No problem," Mitsui said, beginning to climb the stairs. "Watch your back now. Those Oendans can get pretty vicious."

"So I've heard," Reika laughed. "All right. I'll see you later," Reika waved before she left.

Mitsui shoved his hands into his pockets as he ascended the stairs. _Family thing...Now why didn't I believe her?_

* * *

Author's Babbles: Ack! Way too short to be called a chapter, gomen! I just felt that it should be cut there. Not to worry though, I uploaded the next chapter too, so the update wouldn't be completely useless.

No, Mitsui will not get involved with her. Reika-chan is solely for Rukawa-kun. No love triangles in this fic, I'm afraid. Too much drama. I just wanted Micchi to make an appearance. _Sighs. _Mitsui's just so _kakoi_. ...ne? ne? lolz...


	4. Saved

UNSPOKEN CHAPTER 4 

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

It turned out that Reika Watanabe had a lot of family 'things'. She was absent at least once a week, usually Fridays. She didn't tell anyone in her class why. It raised a lot of questions and rumors started to spread. What is Watanabe hiding?

She didn't seem to be hiding anything though. She seemed okay in class. She was friendly enough, but she didn't talk to anyone all that much. She went to watch basketball practice regularly, sometimes giving suggestions to the substitute and non-regular players regarding their playing styles. Others claim they see her playing by herself on the public courts. Only weird thing they discovered about her was that she never went out with anybody. All dates that have been offered to her were turned down. The offers decreased gradually since then.

It was a good thing too, she thought, that no one wanted to go out with her anymore. She certainly needed distraction but not the agonies and pains a serious relationship might bring her. Especially when _it_ happens.

'If _it happens' _Reika corrected herself as she stepped out of a building, a duffel bag slung loosely on her shoulder. '_It might _not _happen...right?_' She shook her head, clearing her mind of all those unpleasant thoughts. She mustn't think about it yet. She sighed and checked her phone for messages. One message received from her mother.

_Can't pick you up. Urgent meeting at the office, sorry. Tell me how it went later all right? Love you._

She sighed. She didn't bring her board with her, so she had only one option; walk. _'damn, I have so much to catch up on,'_ she thought, annoyed. On her last absence, the teachers had given them all heavy workloads for the weekend.

She rounded a corner and passed by a deserted alley. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice three guys surround her.

"Well, well. Look at what got caught in our net this time," a burly guy with matted, greasy hair said hoarsely.

"Stick with us babe, and we'll show you what fun is all about," a taller one with a crew cut sneered.

"You're in for the ultimate thrill ride," the other one whispered in her ear.

Reika's heartbeat quickened, but she glared at them icily. She didn't need this. Not now. "You could use a couple of years in a pick-up line course," she spat out, amazed that the panic did not manifest in her voice. She sniffed and wrinkled her nose. "And the shower too."

The three of them laughed mirthlessly. "What do you know, a comedian. I like her even more."

When Crew Cut touched her face with his rough fingers, she froze in place. She didn't know what to do. But when started to lean down to kiss her, her survival instincts kicked in.

"Get your filthy hands off me," she hissed. She held him down by the shoulders and rammed her knee between his thighs.

"Shit!" he cried as he let go of her and stumbled to the ground.

"Seize the bitch!"

The smaller guy lunged at her. Reika clenched her fist and punched him with all her might. He staggered backwards, a thin line of blood trickled down his chin from his mouth.

Reika started to run away but the burly guy was faster than she thought. She was a pretty fast runner, but today, her whole body was weaker than usual. With a few quick strides he caught her, grabbed her arm and shoved her hard against the wall.

The two others had already recovered and blocked all ways of escape. The burly guy held her wrists together with one hand and strangled her with the other.

"We tried to be nice to you, stupid bitch, but you wouldn't listen," he snarled at her. "So we'll do it to you, nice, slow...and painful."

Her arms have gone limp at her sides. Her throat ached from the pressure of his hand on her neck. She gulped up the very little air she could get. She couldn't 't breathe...

Her world grew blurry... hazy. Her whole body felt numb from lack of oxygen. Everything started to darken. She was going to faint...

Then suddenly, her vision slowly came back into focus. She collapsed on the ground, coughing. It took her some time before she could think clearly. She heard thumping. Like someone hitting someone else. Then the horrible sound of cracking bones.

She looked up and did a double-take.

Rukawa Kaede gave a final punch to the burly guy, grabbed his head and banged it into the wall until he was out cold. Panting silently, he turned to her. There must have been a bruise on his head, because blood dripped down from his raven-black hair and down his cheek. The droplets of blood stained his dark blue windbreaker.

He retrieved his bike and turned to leave.

Stunned, it took a couple of seconds before she realized what just happened. "Rukawa! Wait!" she leaped to her feet and ran in front of him. She looked up at him and swallowed hard. "That wound looks pretty bad. Maybe you should let me check it."

But he just ignored her, as always, and walked away.

Reika seethed. Sure he saved her but he didn't have to be so damn indifferent about it. She yelled. "Rukawa Kaede! Quit being such an asshole and face me when I'm talking to you!"

Rukawa stopped and looked at her over his shoulder, as though waiting for her to come along.

"Gawd, I'm tired of talking to myself," Reika sighed in exasperation before she caught up with him. "Come with me."

She led the way towards a nearby café and picked out an outdoor table. Rukawa propped his bike up nearby while Reika went inside to ask the guy behind the counter for some ice. She bundled it all up in her handkerchief. She went back outside, somewhat surprised that Rukawa had stuck around. She gave the makeshift ice-pack to him.

"Hold this on your wound and wait for me," she told him sternly. "I'm just going to the drugstore across the street. And don't even _think_ of ditching me, ok?"

She hurried over to the drugstore as Rukawa stuffed the earphones in his ears and switched on his Walkman. He did as he was told and held the icepack on his head. The bruise sure did throb like hell. He also started to feel the makings of a would-be migraine.

He thought about how lucky it was for her that he was passing by. But he thought that she was also pretty gutsy, trying to fight back. If she were just a little quicker she would've gotten away...

After a couple of minutes, Reika came back, a mini first-aid kit on her hand.

She sat on the chair beside him and set the first-aid kit on the table. He reached for it immediately, but she slapped his hand away.

"Let me do it," she said. It wasn't a request. She started to clean the wound and the blood off his face without a word.

A few moments later, he felt her fingers touch his ear and pull off one of the earphones.

He looked at her, annoyed and wondering what she wanted now. His favorite song was playing.

She touched his arm but she didn't quite meet his eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment. "_Anou..._Rukawa-kun..._arigato..._for what you did for me back there."

He nodded to show his appreciation. When he looked up he tensed and pulled his arm away from Reika's touch. Reika looked up too, to find out what he saw.

"He's Sendoh, isn't he?" Reika said. There stood a tall boy, with unusual hedgehog-like hair. "Hell of a player, he is. I'd sure love to beat him in a one-on-one."

Sendoh caught sight of his raven-haired rival. _'My my, what have we here?' _he thought, his face breaking into a kooky little smile. He's seen some pretty weird things and this definitely qualified as one of 'em. He chuckled. The things you see in this street.

"Didn't know you were interested in girls, Rukawa-kun," he said when he passed by. "There must be more to Rukawa Kaede than we thought. And you—"He winked at Reika. "--must be a miracle of a girl for Rukawa to notice you," he added to her before strolling away. "See you at the interhighs Rukawa-kun."

Reika rolled her eyes at his back. "Cheeky little asshole. He's your real rival, not Sakuragi, right?"

"How'd you know?" Rukawa's eyebrows were drawn together.

"Puh-leaze," Reika raised an eyebrow. "Anyone with eyes can notice the tension between you two when you play against each other. You and Sakuragi, you just don't get along very well and it's mostly his fault. His brain functions slower than his mouth and doesn't stop to think about the details. But Sendoh is, let's face it, a better player than you. And you want to beat him, a whole lot more than I or anybody else does."

Rukawa closed his eyes and immersed himself with the music once more, amazed at the way the girl's mind worked. Everything she had said so far was right and similar to most of his opinions.

A strange beeping noise interrupted his thoughts. Reika pulled out something from her pocket. It was a tiny mobile phone.

"Hello?" she said into it. Then she frowned. "What? Now? But...! sigh OK. OK. Fine. Bye."

She put it back inside her pocket and stood up.

"Listen, Rukawa-kun, I have to go," she said. "I'll just see you in school on Monday, if you attend classes."

"I'll walk you," he said, standing up too. Those thugs might still be out there.

"My house is out of your way," she argued. "Don't worry about me, I'll take a cab. You go on home, get some sleep. All that fighting must've worn you out. _Ja ne_(See you)."

She went on ahead and hailed a cab.

And that day, Reika Watanabe earned a space of her own in Rukawa's memory.

* * *

**Reika's Journal : Sunday, 6:34 pm October 27**

My first few weeks in Shohoku High had been pretty good so far. Some really weird girls have ganged up against me, but other than that it's been great. Not all the girls were ridiculously stupid though. Haruko-chan and Aya-chan are pretty nice.

The boys are nice enough too. Most of the guys have already asked me out, but I turned them all down. Sheesh. Guys in Kanagawa aren't all that different from the guys in Honshu. They all go gaga over the new girl. Seen it loads of times. A friend of mine was once a new girl too, back in Honshu, and all the boys went crazy over her for a while, but it came to pass.

I've been hanging out at the basketball court every afternoon to watch the team practice. If they finished early, Aya-chan, Haruko-chan and I played ball. Sometimes the team members would play with us, especially Sakuragi and Miyagi. I have to admit, the Shohoku team members are very cool. Sakuragi might be a goofball but he _is_ a fast learner. Miyagi is one of the best point guards I've ever seen, and he's really committed to the team. No wonder he's team captain. Mi-chan is like a big bro to me. He was the one who helped me through that whole Oendan Squad episode. Akagi-sempai, the gigantic ex-captain, must've been a tough cookie, but he can be cool. He's funny when he conks Sakuragi on the head. Kogure-sempai is very kind, and a bit on the talkative side. The two of them are no longer in the team but they come for a visit every once in a while. Mi-chan told me that they retired early to study for their finals. He(Mi-chan), on the other hand, kept playing for the team to make up for 'lost time', whatever that meant.

Then of course there's Rukawa Kaede. Yup, _the_ Rukawa Kaede of Shohoku High. He's really....err.._quiet_. It's kind of creepy actually. I think we have a some things in common, except that I actually say more than ten words a day and my life isn't only about basketball. And it seems that he's always asleep whenever he's not playing. A lot of girls like him, that's why they rebelled against me. See, I played one on one with him and he lent me his jacket. Then there was that whole alley thing. I can kind of see why the girls like him so much. Th guy _is_ handsome, but he's a bit og a loner and very anti-social. But he can be pretty nice too, in his own bizarre way.

I have to watch my back. Liking someone a little too much is fatal to me. Stress on the word _fatal. _

Mom's at the door. She has another meeting tonight so I guess I'm assigned to prepare dinner again.

_Reika_

* * *

Rukawa lay on his bed that night, music blaring loudly in his ears once more. The bruise in his head was still throbbing, although dully now.

He stared up at his ceiling, with only one thought in his mind.

"Why...?"

* * *

Author's Babbles:

_Phew..._ Thankies to all those who reviewed! And thanks to those who've stuck with this. Will update soon....keep the reviews coming, ayt?

Next up: A substitute teacher plays a part in getting Reika and Kaede together.

Til next chapter!


	5. Project

**UNSPOKEN CHAPTER 5**

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

History period, Monday afternoon, First Year Class 10 of Shohoku Prefectural High was getting very interested. Their regular teacher had taken an early vacation, and their substitute teacher seemed to be pretty cool. She was younger than their other teachers and her class didn't seem to be as boring as their previous teacher. Even Rukawa had the decency to stay up, partly because the class was buzzing noisily. Even though he's spacing out, at least his eyes were open.

The reason for all that excited talk was because of term project. She gave them something totally different from the boring term paper that was originally assigned to them.

It was to make a presentation about Christmas traditions in different countries, since the holidays are coming up. It didn't matter which, how many countries or how you present it, as long as it had something to do with the theme.

"It's a fairly difficult subject, and I want it to be fun so you guys get to do it by pair," she said.

Hands immediately shot up in the air. The teacher looked glad that the class was excited about the project. She called up one of the boys.

"Can we pick our own partner?" he asked the question almost everyone wanted to ask.

The teacher tapped her chin. "Well, I did say that I wanted this project to be fun, so I want you guys to work with someone you get along with, so...ok. You can pick your own partner."

"Deadline's on next Monday, you may all go now!" the teacher announced when the last bell rang.

There was a sort of explosion of chatter as the Oendans in class argued regarding who would ask 'Rukawa-sama' to be their partner.

"_You _got to give him the Congratlations present, it's _my _turn now!"

"Well, _you_ got to carry the banner we made for him!"

Reika looked over the top of the novel she was reading and suppressed a giggle. No question about it, these girls were stark, raving mad. Behind her, she heard Rukawa's head drop onto his desk. He was asleep again.

The Oendans passed by her on their way to their Rukawa-sama, giving her the evil eye as they went along.

All at once they garbled on and on, snapping Rukawa out of his sleepy daze. They all asked him to be their partner, all at the same time. He silently wished they would go away, and leave him to doze in peace.

After a while, he just couldn't take it anymore.

Reika looked up from her novel when she heard the scraping of a chair against the tiled floor. She looked behind her, and saw Rukawa standing up, towering over the squabbling females, glaring at the lot of them.

There was a sudden hush. Apparently, his sudden action stunned the Oendans silent. After a few seconds....

"So would you _please _be my partner?" one of them wheedled, thus prompting the others to do the same.

A book snapped shut and another chair scraped across the floor.

Reika had stood up from her seat and grabbed Rukawa's arm. "Come on partner, we have research to do," she said, boldly pulling him past the dumbstruck Oendans. The pair of them grabbed their things and left the room.

Reika burst out laughing once they got into the hallway. "The look on their _faces!_" she said, clutching her stomach. "And on your face too, for that matter. I haven't laughed this much in ages."

She turned to him, letting go of his arm. "Hey, I wasn't really serious about you being my partner okay?" she told him. "If you wanted to ask someone else, its fine by me. I could ask someone else. You just looked like you needed rescuing back there, coz those Oendans seemed to be--"

Rukawa held up a hand to stop her chatter. "It's cool. We're partners."

"So do you want to start the project today?" Reika asked him. He stared at her blankly, like he didn't know what she was talking about (which he probably didn't). "The history project? Remember?"

Rukawa continued to stare at her motionlessly.

"_Don't _tell me you don't even know _why_ we're partners in the first place."

Silence.

Reika let out an exasperated sigh. What had she gotten herself into? "Anyway, since we're partners and everything, and I want you to do your share. If you want to start the project today, come by my house after practice." She pulled out the piece of paper from her pocket once again, scribbled her address on it with her pen and handed it to him.

"Reika-chan!" a female voice called. Reika whirled around and saw Haruko walk up to her. The latter girl blushed beet red when she recognized who Reika was speaking with.

"Yo, Haruko-chan," Reika grinned.

"Are you going to watch practice today?" Haruko managed to tear her eyes away from Rukawa and asked Reika.

"Nope. I've got to run some errands for my mom," Reika said. "You two go on ahead to the gym. I'll see you guys around!"

She winked at both of them before she walked away.

* * *

Rukawa unlocked his bike from the bike rack after practice. Miyagi and Mitsui were just passing by and stopped beside him.

"Hey, Rukawa," Mitsui said. "Shorty and I are going to catch that new horror flick downtown. Wanna come?"

Miyagi elbowed Mitsui. "Don't call me Shorty."

"No," Rukawa replied simply.

Mitsui laughed. "I should've known. So where are you going now?"

"Watanabe's house."

"Way to go, Rukawa!" Miyagi said as he and Mitsui imitated the Oendan Girls' cheering. "So _that's_ why she turned down all the guys who asked her out. You guys are _dating _aren't you!?"

Rukawa looked at him like he was crazy. "Just a project."

"Ayayay, Rukawa-kun. Such a great player, and yet too dense!" Mitsui shook his head dramatically.

"True, so true," Miyagi agreed, nodding his head.

"The girls flock to you, but you don't even notice. And now you have the biggest catch of the century within reach, you don't even make a move to take it!" Mitsui told him. "I've been thinking of getting a girlfriend too, but I just don't have the time. If only Reika was a bit older, I'll be after her faster than you can say 'three points'!"

"Liar. You're just a reject like me and Hanamichi!" Miyagi glared at him accusingly.

"What did you say?!" Mitsui growled and they started to grapple each other.

"Assholes," Rukawa muttered under his breath as he mounted his bike and left the two to continue wrestling each other.

* * *

Rukawa got off his bike and leaned it on the inside of the gates, checking the piece of paper in his hand if it matched the plate on the post. When he arrived at Reika's house, the gates were open so he just walked in. He walked past the front porch and stopped in front of the door. From where he was standing, he could hear a voice singing loudly the exact same song playing in his Walkman.

Strange. Everyone who's ever heard the music he listens to says he was a crazy punk kid who loved noise. He pressed the button of the doorbell and waited. But no one came to answer it. He pressed it again. This time, he heard another voice yelling over the loud singing.

"Reika! Get the door!" it said. "Do you hear me? _Reika!_"

The door was opened a few seconds later by a woman. She looked very pretty in a professional suit, but she looked a bit hassled and stressed out. She and Reika shared quite a few similarities. Their eyes were the same intense emerald green, and her eyebrows were raised in the same fashion.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" she asked him with a tight smile.

"Is Reika home?" Rukawa asked awkwardly. He never was much of a people person.

"Oh, I see. Come on in," she stepped back to let him in and led him through the house. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to come to the door sooner. I'm pretty busy right now, and I'm afraid that Walkman is ruining Reika's sense of hearing," she said. "And she'll ruin mine if she doesn't stop that singing! Follow the hallway and go inside the first doorway to the left. You can't miss it."

She disappeared into a room with double-doors and shut them behind her. Rukawa followed her instructions and got in a room that looked like a living room.

Reika was sitting on the couch, painting decals on a new skateboard and singing. He supposed that she was listening to her Walkman because she had headphones on over her loose ponytail. She didn't even notice Rukawa standing there, the way she didn't notice him when he caught her practicing by herself.

Rukawa got a little impatient waiting so he ambled up behind her and yanked off the headphones.

"Hey! What's the big--?!" she looked up grumpily and then she grinned sheepishly. "Oh, hehe, hi. Sit down."

Rukawa sat down on the couch as she put the painting tools and the skateboard away in a corner. Then she took out some books, magazines and other materials, dropped them on the table and plopped down beside Rukawa.

"I didn't think you'd come," she commented as she spread out the stuff she got. "So listen, I think it would be pretty cool if we collaged some pictures together and just cut out explanations from magazines and old books for the presentation itself. I'll type up some stuff for the written report. Also, we might as well do it by continent. That way, we can cover most of the countries easier. What do you think?"

Rukawa shrugged, staring impassively at the cutouts she was positioning at the table.

"Don't you have a say about this?" Reika looked up at him with an amused grin. "This won't be any fun if you don't at least say something."

"Like what?" he asked her as she started to leaf through one of the magazines.

"I don't know, whatever," Reika said absent-mindedly. "This could be good enough, don't you think?" she showed him a picture from the magazine.

"Maybe," Rukawa shrugged yet again.

Reika made a face. "Do you even _know_ what the topic is?" she stared at him, frustrated. Then she sighed. "I suppose not. Find anything related to Christmas. Anything at all. Like this, '_Holidays in Holland' _"

"Holiday?"

"You have _absolutely _no idea, have you?"

Rukawa looked thoughtful. "I don't know..."

Reika slapped his arm and laughed. "Fine, you do the cutting and pasting. I'll look for the material.Let's get to work."

* * *

"I'm so tired!" Reika stretched her arms over her head and sighed. "I think this project is getting top scores!"

"Hmm," he nodded slowly. He didn't look as tense and secluded now, unlike before. In fact, he looked...relaxed. His eyebrows weren't knitted together anymore. In fact, he was even helpful.

She checked her watch and frowned. "We can't finish this all today. Why don't we—"

Reika was cut off by a sudden entrance of an eight-year-old boy dribbling a blue basketball. He then took aim at the paint tub beside Reika's skateboard. She saw him just in time to catch the basketball.

"Koji, you brat!" Reika glared at him. "If you ruin my new board I _swear_ I'll strangle you!"

He stuck out his tongue at her and ran to get his ball. But then, his foot got caught on the edge of the carpet and almost fell face-first on the floor. Luckily, Rukawa caught him in time.

"_Arigato..._" he said, suddenly timid. When he saw who caught him, his green eyes widened and he broke into a wide smile. "You're Rukawa!"

"You know me?" Rukawa asked as he helped him stand up.

"Who doesn't?" Reika said, as though it was obvious. "Listen, Rukawa-kun, it's getting pretty late. Would you like to have dinner here?"

He shook his head. "I have to get going anyway."

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere. Not until you've had your dinner."

They all whirled around to see who had spoken. The lady who had let Rukawa in earlier was standing in the doorway.

"Ka-san!" Reika and Koji said, startled.

"Dinner's ready," she told them with a smile. Then she turned to Rukawa. "Young man, join us. It's a rare occasion, my cooking. And I don't take no for an answer."

Reika laughed. "Rukawa, meet my mom. And it's probably not a good idea to say no."

Watanabe-san looked at Reika. "Reika, have you had your--"

"Later mom," she waved her hadn dismissively, putting their materials away.

"Let's go, I'm starved!" Koji grabbed Rukawa's arm and pulled him to the dining room.

* * *

"You take care of yourself, OK?" Mrs. Watanabe told Rukawa after dinner and then disappeared again into her office.

"_Oyasumi-nasai_ Rukawa-niichan," Koji said before running up the stairs.

Reika led him out the front door. "I'm sorry we kept you too long. It's just that we hardly have anyone come over for dinner except for my mom's clients. And Koji has always adored you," she said softly as they walked toward the gate. "Your folks are probably hitting the roof. _Gomen ne_."

"_Iie_(No)It's OK," Rukawa looked down at her, when they got to his bike.

"So when are we going to continue this project?" Reika asked him. "Tomorrow's not good. I have, uhh.. stuff to do."

"We have practice game with Shoyo on Wednesday," Rukawa said. Then he did something he had never dreamt of doing. "Do you want to come and watch?"

"Sure!" Reika broke into an excited grin. "I'm going to make sure I can watch. Fujima's one of the best players in the prefecture. So Thursday then?"

Rukawa nodded as he got on his bike. "_Ja ne_," he said before he took off.

The wind picked up as Reika waved him goodbye.

* * *

Author's Babbles:

Not much to babble about actually. But I do want to apologize that Rukawa's kind of OOC... All part of the story I guess.

Next: something fishy's going on with the newbie..

R and R please!

Til next chapter!


	6. Connection

**UNSPOKEN CHAPTER 6**

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

**Reika's Journal Saturday 7:15 pm **

Our project was a hit! I'm not bragging about this or anything but... Oh screw it, I _am _bragging about this. We deserve to brag, anyway.everyone thought I was amazing, making Rukawa cooperate with me like that. I did the written and oral report, while he handled putting up the visuals. All our hard work paid off. We got top marks, as I predicted. Tee hee...

He was excellent at the game with Shoyo. He faced up to Fujima fairly good. Then afterwards, I challenged him to another one on one. But then, the school monitor came and told us to go home before we finished. So nobody won again. It was fun though. He walked me home after that.

Then I went to the public courts this afternoon. I was playing by myself for a while, then I heard a basketball being dribbled outside. I turned to see who it was and surprise, surprise! It's Rukawa. He never did rest from playing. It was his life, I guess. So he walked me home again. This walk-home thing is becoming quite a habit! Mom was home. Her job was definitely rolling. She's always all-smiles when she comes home. I _wish _I were all smiles when I come home from...Never mind. I shouldn't talk about that.

Mom was itching to give Rukawa a third-degree but I told her she should never, _ever_ do that. I don't think he likes being asked questions. He's not much of a thinker. And besides, he's a friend, nothing else. I don't need a relationship. But I think we're becoming a bit like good friends. Fast huh? Ayako had also become a bit of a friend. She asked me to help her and Haruko in training the freshmen if I have time. I said I would. I can see the team needs work if they want to have good backups. They can't go to the Interhigh without such. So I'm going to start tomorrow. I suppose it's all right if I skipped _one _meeting.

The team seemed glad to have a new temporary assistant manageress. Anzai-sensei didn't mind it either.

Mom and Koji are watching a movie. I think I'll go join them. Good night!

                                                                                                Reika

* * *

Rukawa turned up the volume of his Walkman and made his way up towards the rooftop. Their sensei for trigonometry was absent. Since trigonometry came right before lunch, he had two free hours to take a nap. He'd gladly fall asleep in the classroom but the Oendans wouldn't permit him such pleasures. So the rooftop it is.

He twisted the knob and stepped out into the solitude and fresh air. He was going straight for his favorite spot when he noticed he wasn't alone. There was someone else up there, her back to him as she leaned on the railing. She turned around almost immediately when she heard him approach.

"Oh, it's you," Reika said, tucking a strand of her loose dark hair behind her ear. "You're here to take a nap I suppose?"

He sat down with his back leaning against the railing and closed his eyes. So someone else was with him. No big deal. It's just Watanabe anyway. She won't make much noise.

Reika wanted to resume her reading but she couldn't concentrate. She can hear the sounds from Rukawa's Walkman.

_'Hey, that song...'_ she said, turning around. Marking her place with a finger, she closed her eyes and listened closely.

"...ga owaru made wa, hanareru koto mo nai!" she sang along to her favorite song by _WANDS_, tapping her foot along with the beat.

Rukawa opened one eye and saw Reika singing happily along. So she knew the song too.

"Oi," Rukawa found himself saying as he removed one of the earphones and offering it to her. Reika grinned and sat beside him, gratefully stuffing the earphone in her own ear before reopening her book.

He peeked at the title of the book she was reading. It was an english book entitled _Tuesdays With Morrie. _

"Rukawa, have you ever read any book before?" she asked him. He shook his head. "You should. And when you do, you should probably try to read this one."

She didn't wait for his response and plowed on. "It's a lovely book. It tells one to continue living one's life to the fullest, even though you have a physical disadvantage. Like if you still can, then do, you know?" she paused and turned the page. "...Only death can keep you from being productive."

Silence met Reika's words, but she didn't mind. She just kept on reading. Rukawa silently agreed to what she said, but he didn't need some book to tell him that. Mitsui-sempai had been a good example of living life to the fullest even with a physical disadvantage. Having an injured knee didn't keep him from playing basketball. Not anymore.

The ending strains of the song faded and the next song played shortly afterward.

Reika checked her watch. "I have to meet Haruko-chan and Aya-chan for lunch," she said, removing the earphone and giving it back Rukawa. "You might not wake up in time for our afternoon classes so I'll see you at practice, ok?"

She got on her feet, brushed the dust off her skirt and left.

* * *

"All right! Two more!" Reika yelled at the freshman she was training. She adjusted her tank top and threw another ball for the freshman to shoot. The ball went straight into the basket. "Nice shot! One last!"

Ayako came and patted her at the back. "You're pretty good at this," she said with a smile. "The others are improving. Anzai-sensei will be pleased to see the progress."

Reika beamed. "It helps to love the sport as much as I do." She turned around and found herself watching Rukawa shoot a perfect three-pointer. When their eyes met, she blushed and turned away. _'Concentrate on training, Reika'_ she thought. When she turned back to Ayako, her face broke into a grin. "Speaking of love, Miyagi-captain is heading this way."

"Aya-chan, Shiozaki slipped. He skinned his knee, we'll need first aid," he said. The look he was giving Ayako was full of meaning.

"Hai, hai," Ayako nodded. She gathered her first-aid kit and went to bandage Shiozaki's knee. When she came back, Reika had finished training the freshman and went to help Ayako arrange the first-aid kit.

"Ne, Ayako-sempai. Did you ever consider going out with Miyagi-captain? I think he's liked you for quite sometime now," she asked, studying Miyagi's profile from a distance. He was the shortest of the starting members, but he was definitely quick. And he was built fairly buff. Actually, Reika thought his curly hair and sideways smile were pretty cute. And the earring deserved credit. She looked down at Ayako, who was blushing.

"I don't know," Ayako replied, her voice softer than usual. "Everybody says he had always been a player. And I know its just one of his games,"

"Well I think he really _does_ like you. And a lot," Reika asked again. "Don't you like him too?"

Ayako thought long before replying. There was a minute of silence.

"Sempai?" Reika prodded.

Ayako looked down and clasped the kit shut. "Maybe..." she answered quietly.

"That's all I needed to know," Reika said, satisfied. She picked up a ball and threw it into the bin. She started to leave when she heard someone run up to her.

"Captain?" she raised an eyebrow, puzzled. Miyagi-captain rarely talked to her.

"I need to talk to you," he said, catching his breath.

"I'm listening," Reika shrugged.

"The exams are coming up, right?" he began.

"Yeah," Reika nodded.

"Well you see, we have a rule in this school. That those with failing subjects cannot participate in any extracurricular activities,"

"And?"

Miyagi fumbled at his practice jersey. "You see, Sakuragi and Rukawa are not very good at academics. Neither am I for that matter."

Reika laughed. "I kind of noticed that, yeah. Go on."

"Well, they're very important players. We can't afford to lose them," Miyagi went on."I got Haruko-chan to tutor Sakuragi, and I made Aya-chan tutor me, but Rukawa...well... since you're closer to him than anybody else, do you think, maybe..."

"Sure captain, no problem," Reika shrugged again, not waiting for him to finish the request. She should have known.

"Thanks, Reika. I appreciate it," Miyagi said. Then he looked at Reika, as if he wanted to say something else.

"Is there anything else, captain?"

Miyagi blushed and looked down at his sneakers. "Ehrmm... You are friends with Aya-chan, I suppose?"

"Hai," Reika nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I, uhmm, I need a little, uhh, help," he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was planning to ask her out again. But she's turned me down several times. I haven't given up yet. Because I really, _really _like her. Do you think I have a chance?"

Reika bit her lip to keep herself from grinning stupidly. "You know what? I think you should go for it. Maybe she's had a change of heart now that you're captain, and no longer a part of some gang."

"Do you think she'll go out with me?" Miyagi looked at her hopefully.

"It couldn't hurt to try," Reika said, her eyes twinkling. "Excuse me captain, but I have to go take a shower now."

"Oh, OK. Thanks again," Miyagi gave her a grateful smile before running back into the court.

Reika met Rukawa as she went to gather her things.

"_Yo,_" she said with a bright smile. Rukawa nodded at her before continuing to walk on. "Hey wait!"

Rukawa stopped and turned around. "_Nani?_"

"Do you want to study together at my house? The exams are coming up and I heard you weren't doing so good in your subjects," Reika said.

"I'll think about it."

"If you make up your mind, you know where to find me," Reika said before they went about their ways.

* * *

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Ayako waved at the team members before going to take a shower in the ladies' shower room. "Ja, Ryota. Take care now!"

"Ja, Aya-chan!" Ryota beamed at her, a blush staining his tanned cheeks. Ayako couldn't help smiling. She kept thinking about what Reika said earlier.

_He really likes you. And a lot. _

_'Maybe I _should _give him a chance...'_ Ayako thought absently as she opened the door to the shower rooms. She heard water whooshing from one of the showerheads, meaning there must be someone inside.

She shoved her things inside a locker before turning to choose a stall. There was something on the marble floor...or rather, some_one._

Ayako screamed.

Reika was on the floor in a dead faint.

She fell on her knees, disregarding the fact that the showerhead was spraying her with water.

"Reika-chan! Reika-chan!" she said, frantically checking the other girl's pulse and breathing. _'Oh fuck..shit..shit what do I do?'_

Ayako's eyes caught the first-aid box. "Of course! Smelling salts!"

She rummaged the kit, found some smelling salts and made Reika breathe it in. The unconscious girl's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Oh thank goodness!" Ayako let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"What—happened?" Reika asked, starting to get up off the bathroom floor. As she did, something fell away from her. Ayako watched it in awe as it dropped back down to the floor.

Reika immediately regretted going to school that day, when she knew she scheduled to go somewhere else.

"Oh shit!" Reika cursed, picking it back up.

_Knock knock knock! _There were insistent pounding on the bathroom door.

"Oh. My. God." Ayako couldn't believe what she just saw, and completely ignored the knocks. She caught Reika's eyes and saw...fear. And pleading. She looked at Reika with disbelief. "You..."

"Please!" Reika said, clutching the front of Ayako's drenched shirt. "Please don't tell anyone!"

* * *

Rukawa was last to enter the shower room. He liked to be alone anyway so it didn't matter. When he showered with the other members, they always cause a racket. They played wargames in the shower, using the detachable showerheads as guns. Hisashi, Hanamichi and Ryota all liked to fool around a lot, and they kept forcing Rukawa to join their stupid games. His teammates were cool, but he just didn't like playing around like they did.

Anyway, he was almost finished bathing now. A hot shower always felt good after training. It helped soothe his muscles. He was still enjoying the warm water when he heard a terrified scream from the other room.

_'The ladies shower room,'_ he thought. It could be the Oendans, screaming because they saw a roach or something. But that was unlikely. By this time, almost everyone had gone home. The only girls that might be there at this time are Ayako-sempai, Haruko-san and Reika. Haruko had left earlier with the _aho, _Sakuragi, while the other two were not the type to scream like that over a roach.

Rukawa quickly shut off the shower and grabbed his towel. He dried himself as fast as he could and slipped on his clothes quickly. As soon as he had his Air Jordans on, he ran out of the men's locker room and proceeded to beat down the women's shower room door.

_'Why isn't anyone answering?' _he thought crossly, continuing to pound on the wooden barrier. He restrained himself from kicking the door open. It was a _women's_ locker room after all.

After almost three minutes of continuous knocking, he stopped. Maybe it was not a big deal after all. He examined his knuckle, which he nearly skinned raw.

Before he could leave, the door finally opened. Ayako, dripping water all over the place, stood in the doorway and was helping Reika stay on her feet. The latter girl looked pale, and her usually well-groomed hair was disheveled. She was kind of wet too, because of the water from Ayako's clothes.

"Rukawa!" Ayako's eyes widened in shock. "What are you still doing here?"

"What happened?" Rukawa ignored her question and asked one of his own. His gaze flickered onto a trembling Reika, who wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Rukawa, would you do me a favor?" Ayako chose to ignore his question too. "Here," she handed Rukawa a duffel bag. "These are Reika's things. Take her home, she needs to go home immediately. I'd do it myself but I'm sopping wet, and I have to go change."

"No!" Reika suddenly spoke up, her weak eyes suddenly alive. "I can go home by myself. Don't worry about me!"

As if to demonstrate, she tried to get on her own two feet. But it was in vain; she wobbled a little before her knees finally gave way. Rukawa caught her and helped her steady herself.

"I'll take care of her, sempai," Rukawa told Ayako.

"Thank you," Ayako smiled gratefully at him before heading back inside the bathroom.

"You don't have to," Reika said, trying to wriggle out of Rukawa's grasp, but he held her in place.

"Stay _still,_" he commanded. The tone of his voice made Reika stop squirming. With one hand, he held her up. With the other, he took off his jacket and laid it across her shoulders.

And then, with a slight heave, he bent down and picked her up from the ground easily.

"Hey!" Reika protested weakly.

"Shut up," Rukawa said as he started to walk towards the exit. Reika hid her face in Rukawa's broad chest to hide a blush. Basketball had done wonders for his build. Beneath the soft cotton shirt were well-defined muscles.

Rukawa tried to ignore the scent of lavender that was coming from Reika. This was the closest proximity he ever got to her, and he was starting to like it. He shook his head to clear all unwanted thoughts and walked past the school gates to hail a cab. He didn't go back for his bike and his stuff; he'd get them in the morning.

He let Reika get in first and then followed suit. He gave the address to the driver before turning to look at the girl beside him.

"Would you mind if we don't have the study session tonight?" Reika asked him, attempting to make conversation.

He shook his head. "Watanabe-san--"

"Just...call me Reika," Reika said softly, sounding uncharacteristically timid. "And please don't ask me what happened, because I cannot tell you,"

There was silence.

"Are you all right now?" Rukawa asked her.

"I don't know," she half-whispered, but Rukawa heard every word. She looked up at him with a sad smile for a split second before turning to gaze out the window so he wouldn't see her. _'Damn damn damn...'_ she thought, fighting back the tears that were flooding up her eyes and threatening to spill. This was _not _the time to break in pieces.

"You will be."

She was a little surprised when Rukawa offered her a handkerchief even before the tears escaped.

* * *

Author's Babbles:

There we go! Rukawa's becoming more and more OOC...gomen ne!

Up next, the others notice the chemistry between the two main characters..and two others create their own...get it?? Harhar...

Read and review _onegaishimasu_!

Til next chapter!


	7. Chemistry

UNSPOKEN CHAPTER 7 

-endymion-

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

Angry scolding met Rukawa's ears once he stepped foot into his classroom almost fifteen minutes late. As usual, he ignored his teachers rants and headed straight to his usual seat. He settled down and dropped his bag beside his chair. He looked up front and noticed the empty seat before him. 

'_Watanabe's...no..._Reika's_ seat,' _he thought.

Strange. He felt almost as empty as the seat in front of him.

* * *

Most of the team had filed in the gym when Ayako arrived. 

She scanned the room and mentally checked attendance. Of course, Ryota was there first, since he was team captain. Shiozaki, Yasuda and Kakuta were there, and so were Hanamichi and Mitsui. Rukawa arrived last. Soon enough, all the team members were in. Haruko was beside her, voicing out drills for the others and the schedule of the practice games.

'_Where could she be?' _Ayako found herself wondering.

After a while, Ryota announced a ten minute break. The team members then took the chance to freshen up and rehydrate themselves.

"Yo, Aya-chan," Hisashi said as he walked up behind her. "Terrific Trio incomplete today?"

Ayako raised an eyebrow, completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

"I meant Reika," Hisashi clarified. "Isn't she coming to practice?"

"I don't know," Ayako replied softly. She had been very troubled ever since the debacle last week. Up until now, she couldn't believe what she saw. She had to know if Reika's all right. After all, they are friends now, right?

Rukawa chose that very moment to grab his water bottle from the bench Ayako was sitting on. "Hey, Rukawa," she said. The rookie in question raised his dark blue eyes to her. "How's Reika?" she asked him.

There was a pause. "Wakan'nai. _(I don't know.)_"

"She didn't come to school, did she?"

Rukawa shook his head.

"All right, thanks," Ayako told him. Ryota blew his whistle and practice had resumed.

* * *

Once again, there was havoc in the Men's Locker Room as Hanamichi, Ryota and the other freshmen team members blasted each other with water from the showerheads. 

"Take, this Ryo-chin!" Hanamichi said, laughing manically and blasting Ryota straight in the face. The team captain retaliated by turning up the pressure on his showerhead.

Mitsui shook his head, amused. Usually, he'd be out there too, beating the others' brains out with high-pressure water. He just didn't feel like it today.

He headed for the lockers to change. He wasn't surprised to see that only Rukawa was there. The rookie had finished showering and was already starting to dress up.

"_Yo,_" Mitsui greeted him.

"_Sempai_," Rukawa merely nodded to acknowledge him. Mitsui supressed a smile. '_Typical Rukawa.' _He thought. "You all right? You seemed out of it in practice."

True enough, the rookie seemed a little off that day. He didn't miss any of the shots, but his throws weren't as precise. Usually, he threw the ball straight into the hoop, no problem. But today, some of his throws made the ball roll around the ring before falling in.

"Ah," Rukawa affirmed that he was fine.

Mitsui dried himself with a towel, thinking about the rookie's weak performance. "Hey, if you don't mind my asking...is there something going on between you and Reika?"

Rukawa, who was bending to tie his shoelaces, froze for a moment before resuming his task.

"I mean, its nothing to be embarrased of," Mitsui said reasonably. "She's a pretty girl, and she's real nice. I was just a bit surprised, that's all. Partly because—well-you didn't seem to have any interest in women at all and--"

"There's nothing going on, sempai," Rukawa replied curtly, bending to tie the other shoe.

"Don't worry Rukawa-kun, it's normal to like a girl." Mitsui clapped the younger boy's back before he started to leave.

"Tch," came Rukawa's agitated reply. He stuffed the earphones into his ears and gathered his things.

But as he rode his bike home, he couldn't help thinking about his conversation with his senior.

'_There's nothing going on,' _Rukawa thought blankly. How could they even think that? Reika was...well...Reika. The newbie motormouth. How could someone as one-worded as him could be attracted to someone _that_ noisy?

_'Nothing...Right?'

* * *

"—My heart to joy at the same tone; And all I loved, I loved alone...--'" recited one of Rukawa's classmates. _

_Eigo_ (English) class. What could be more boring? Well, it was not boring, per se, but it was never one of Rukawa's strong points. For one thing, it was a communication arts class. _Communication_ and _Rukawa Kaede_ do _not _belong in the same sentence. For another, he slept through almost every class.

While everyone was listening intently to the poem, Rukawa was on the verge of sleep once again. He glanced up for a little while and then rest his head back on the table.

Reika still hasn't come to school.

Rukawa had a hard time getting to sleep last night, and woke up the following morning feeling restless. Inexplicably, he just had to find out if she was all right. And it didn't look like he was going to find out soon.

Or so he thought.

Halfway through English class, someone slid the classroom door open. Rukawa didn't care to look up, thinking it was only the principal with some announcements or something.

"Is that allowed? But she's so late!"

"How come sensei's letting her off that easy?"

His classmates started whispering. He looked up to see what they were gossiping about now.

It was Reika. She had just arrived, school gear and all, looking as catty and cheerful as ever. She was standing beside the teacher's desk while she watched the teacher sign a note she had presented to him. When the teacher handed her the note back, she sauntered down to her seat in front of Rukawa.

Before she got into her seat, he flashed Rukawa one of her brightest smiles and mouthed _'Hey.'_

Rukawa couldn't get back to his nap after that

* * *

Clicking the ballpoint pen in her hand, Ayako walked down toward the gym. She checked her clipboard to check the chedule. _'Yep,' _she thought. _'Regular like clockwork.'_

She tucked the pen behind her ear and turned left. All of a sudden, she had bumped into someone and had almost fallen to the ground.

"Aiyaa! _Sumimasen_! (Pardon me!)"

"Mou, _daijoubu_.." Ayako picked up her clipboard and found herself face to face with Reika. "Reika!"

"Yo!" Reika grinned at her, flashing a peace sign. Ayako threw her arms around Reika, surprising herself and the younger girl with her sudden show of affection.

"I've been so worried," Ayako said, pulling back. "How've you been?"

"Never better," Reika replied, still grinning. "All I needed was a little bedrest."

"Are you sure...?" Ayako looked at her uncertainly. Reika's features bore no trace of the sick girl Rukawa lugged home two days ago. And yet Ayako felt that the other girl was not telling the complete truth.

"Look, Aya-chan," Reika draped an arm across Ayako's shoulders and steered her toward the gym once again. "I know what you saw looked bad, but its not _that_ bad. Honest."

"All right..." Ayako said, some of her worry subsiding as they entered the gymnasium. The entire team was already there, starting their drills under Ryota's instructions. "Yo, minna! Look who's back!"

"Yo, Reika-chan!" some of the freshmen called. Reika flashed them a peace sign.

"Good to have you back, kiddo," Mitsui clapped her shoulder. Reika laughed and punched him back.

Ayako watched her friend talk and laugh with some of the members of the team, as if nothing happened. She also saw the other girl's eyes fleet towards a certain raven-haired rookie who was stubbornly doing warm-up exercises instead of joining his mates. _Then_ she saw that certain rookie look annoyedly over at the small group of men that was forming around a certain girl.

Well that was certainly interesting. Mildly weird but interesting. Ayako chuckled and went over to check attendance.

"Aya-chan, can I talk to you?" said a voice.

"Ryota?" Ayako faced the curly-haired captain. "What is it?"

"I wanted to give you something," Ryota said, fumbling with the hem of his jersey and blushing beet red. He held out something to her. A bouquet of yellow roses.

Ayako's mouth dropped open. These were her favorite flowers.

"These are for you," Ryota gave them to her. She took the flowers from him, but she was at a loss of words. He had asked her so many times before, but he never did anything quite as drastic (not to mention romantic) as this.

Ryota stepped closer to her so he was looking into her eyes. "For the two-hundred and seventy-third time...would you go out with me, Aya-chan?"

Ayako's lips twitched upward into a decidedly happy smile. She didn't realize that she had been waiting for him to ask that question again since her talk with Reika.

"Of course Ryota, I'd love to."

* * *

One look at the flowers and the giddy smile on Ayako's face, Reika knew Miyagi-captai had made his move. 

"Hot date, Ayako-sempai?" Reika asked her senior, who was busy combing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror. The two of them had gotten into the ladies shower room together to freshen up before going home. Haruko went on ahead with her brother.

Ayako blushed. "Not exactly hot. Lukewarm, more like. I'm going out with Ryota."

"Hot enough," Reika laughed as she redid her braids. "Finally! Watching you two was painful. I don't know how the others can stand it."

"You should talk," Ayako poked Reika lightly on the arm. "What's up with you and the ice prince?"

"_Who?_" Reika wrinkled her nose, completely lost.

Ayako raised her eyebrows. For someone moderately smart, Reika sure was slow. "I meant Rukawa. What's going on with you guys?"

Reika suddenly became very industrious in rebraiding her hair. "What are you talking about? There's nothing going on," she said, expertly evading Ayako's gaze.

"Oh please," Ayako said, pulling out the cashmere sweater she packed for the day. "I saw you watching him earlier at practice."

"Well—he's a good player!" Reika reasoned, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

"He wasn't playing," Ayako's laughter was muffled as she pulled on her sweater. Good thing the change of clothes she brought were date-worthy. "He wasn't even _holding_ a ball, for crying out loud."

"I must've been looking at something else then," Reika said, tying the end of her loose braid with an elastic.

"Just say it Reika-chan," Ayako said. "You like him, don't you?"

"I don't!" Reika stubbornly refused, even though the faint blush she had was starting to deepen. "I...can't. I shouldn't. Err...Ayako-sempai...you're going to run late if you don't go soon," Reika said, checking her wristwatch.

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not," Reika said. Ayako checked her own watch and gasped.

"Holy crap, you're right!" she said, hastily checking her apperance and stuffing her things into her locker. Once the lock clicked in place, she pulled on her shoes and started to leave.

"Have fun!" Reika called after her before turning back to her reflection. So, Ayako noticed it too. _'What's so wrong with wanting to watch him?'_ Reika thought, wanting to justify her actions. But deep inside, she knew exactly what's wrong with wanting to watch _him_. It would only lead to the very thing she had been trying to avoid.

Shaking her head, she picked up her things. She would just have to keep her heart in check, that's all. '_Avoidance is the key,' _she thought. _'Yeah, that's it.'_

Whistling a merry tune she opened the door and stepped out of the shower room. A figure leaning on the wall beside the bathroom made her stop in her tracks.

* * *

'_Avoidance is the key,' _Reika thought bitterly. _'What a load of crap.'_

She was back home by now, answering some of the review questions their teachers had given them. Rukawa Kaede was sitting beside her, reading the notes she had highlighted for him. She was trying very hard not to turn into a tomato in front of him.

After she had left the shower room, she found Rukawa right outside leaning back against a wall.

"What took you so long?" he asked, sounding a little irritated.

"You were waiting for me?" Reika was too surprised to snap at his irritable behavior. "Why?"

Rukawa gestured at the small pile of books on the floor beside his backpack.

"Oh...right," Reika said, comprehension dawning into her. "The study session. Okay then."

So the two of them walked to Reika's house together. At first, Reika felt really uneasy, but after a while, she grew used to his presence. She began to talk. And when Reika Watanabe began to talk, there's no stopping her. So she chattered on and on, with Rukawa only nodding every once in a while to show that he was listening. It took a lot of patience from him not to stuff his fist into her mouth to shut her up. After all, she _was _going to help him study. And at least he can relate to whatever she was saying, given their similar love for basketball.

But now that they were in Reika's living room. Inside the closed space and alone, the feelings of unease started to come back.

'_Sheesh, Reika. Get to studying!'_ she reprimanded herself. She'd been trying to read the same page for the past thirty minutes. A couple of weeks ago, the two of them had been sitting in the same living room, working on the project. But she didn't feel as queasy back then.

She looked over at Rukawa and her eyebrow popped up. The rookie had drifted off. She reached over to wake him up, but she stopped herself and let her eyes roam over him for a while. She decided then and there that Rukawa looked his best when he was asleep. The perpetual scowl was gone, replaced by a look so peaceful, you'd want to fall asleep with him.

Reika slapped herself. Hard. Then proceeded to do the same to Rukawa.

"No naps," she said, getting on her feet. Rukawa grunted, annoyed. Reika gave him a new set of review questions. "There, answer these and I'll go make coffee. You'll want it black, won't you?"

"Ah."

Rukawa picked up his pen and started to read the first question. Rukawa was halfway done with the first page when Reika came back, with two coffe mugs and a plate of sandwiches. She set them down on the table, and sat back down next to Rukawa. She peered over his shoulder and read his answers.

"Hey, you got number three wrong," she murmured. Rukawa turned to face her and they realized just how close their faces were. They both turned away quickly. Reika cleared her throught, hoping against hope that her face didn't resemble the color of a cooked lobster. She took the pen in his hand and leaned over. "Here, this is how you do it," she explained, amazed that her voice didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

Rukawa tried to focus on what Reika was saying, but her closeness made his thoughts hazy. The figures on the page were clashing together in a load of gibberish. He shook his head, trying to clear his senses of the lavender scent that was coming from the girl beside him.

When he looked back at the page, amazingly, it made sense. Her words slowly made their way to his brain and he understood. He took the pen from her, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach when his hand brushed hers as he did, and wrote down the answer.

"Correct!" Reika exclaimed, obviously pleased that her work was paying off. She grinned up at him. "I think you'll do just fine on the exam on Friday."

He couldn't ignore the butterflies then

* * *

**Reika's Journal                                                                        Thursday, 9:32 pm**

Kaede just left. We covered all our subjects in such a short period of time. He came here every afternoon since I came back to school, right after practice. He always came home late afterwards so he was catching up on his sleep at break times, while I read a new novel. Sometimes, I secretly borrow one of his earphones so I can listen to his Walkman. He doesn't seem to mind. His tapes are pretty good. I think he'll do well on his exams tomorrow. Me? I had finished studying ages ago.

I think the little 'talk' I gave to Ayako-sempai and Miyagi-captain worked. I didn't do much really, coz all they really needed was a little push in the right direction. This afternoon, they had a study date. And by tomorrow, they'll be out on an after-exam date. They look pretty good together. And I think they'll work out pretty well.

Mi-chan is now a good friend of mine too. Like a big bro. And I see my dad when I watch him. Gawd I miss my father...

Enough of this depressing talk.

You know what? It's stupid but I think I can read minds. Well, maybe not. Moods probably. And they're Rukawa's moods. We've gotten pretty close these past few days. Which is very strange. I wonder why he's not so secluded with me as he is with everybody else... Oh well, no need to think about that. At least I know he isn't annoyed with me or anything. I know for a fact that most people tend to get irritated once my mouth goes on overdrive.

But...should I keep on hanging with him? I can't ignore the fast beating of my heart when I'm with him. That means something...something not good. I really, really shouldn't...but I can't help it.

Mom's out again on a meeting. Gads, her business is really flourishing.

'Night.

                                                                                                Reika

* * *

The students waited with bated breath as the sensei handed out the marked sheets of paper that contained the test scores of all the subjects. There were sighs of relief and wails of agony when the students found out what their scores were. 

Reika was feeling a little anxious. No, she did good on her own test. It was Rukawa's test she was fearing for. The Winter IH Eliminations are coming up, and she didn't want Rukawa to miss them. She looked over her shoulder at him.and bit her lip. He was calm, as usual, but he was awake and looking out the window. She supposed it was the rookie's way of showing nerves, being awake.

'_I shouldn't be worried,' _she thought. She taught him all she knew. She wasn't a genius, but she _was_ good in academics. And he did answer the review questionnaires pretty well. That should count for something...right?

Rukawa leaned back on his chair and watched Reika's worried reflection on the classroom window. He knew she was nervous about the test scores. Or rather, _his_ test scores. Well, who wouldn't be worried? He wasn't exactly valedictorian material. And with the Winter IH eliminations coming...well..let's just say its not a soothing thought that Rukawa Kaede won't be able to play for Shohoku.

"Watanabe," the sensei said, handing Reika her test sheet. She glanced at it to take note of her scores, but her face showed no other emotion but anxiety.

"Rukawa."

A sheet of white paper was shoved under his nose. He took it from his teacher and scanned it quickly.

Reika bit her lip, trying her best not to turn around and demand to see Rukawa's scoresheet. She reread her scoresheet to help pass time. There was a tap on her shoulder.

She stiffened and glanced around until her cheek came in contact with a piece of paper.

She eyed Rukawa questioningly, as she took the scoresheet from him.

'_Passed...passed...passed...'_ the knots in her stomach loosened gradually as one by one she saw Rukawa's test results. She heaved a giant sigh of relief and turned back around to return it to him.

"Good job," she grinned at him, before giving her attention to the teacher up front.

"Reika," said Rukawa's deep voice.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

* * *

**RUKAWA** (riding his bicycle with headphones on) 

I'm changing and it's scaring me.

What's happening? What is it with her? I've been hanging with her a lot. I don't mean to, but I always run into her. Or she runs into me. I don't know, but it seems we go to all the same places. The Basketball shop, the public court, the Shohoku gym or the rooftop. She's always talking, I don't think her mouth ever takes a break, but I don't give a damn. She's full of stories. I forgot most of them but I remember her mentioning her mother, her brother and maybe the team members. Maybe I'm not annoyed coz I can relate to whatever she's saying. It's amazing how she can talk endlessly while I just speak up every twenty minutes or so. But she shuts her mouth when I go to sleep. She knew when I was tired. Or when I was in a bad mood coz she always makes me feel better. She does this something that can kick me out of a mood swing. What was it again? I can't seem to remember...

Oh yeah. She looks at me in the eye and smiles.

She never missed a single game, whether it was just practice or actual. She was there when we won our first few games. She said she'd never miss any of Shohoku's games, so when we win, she would remember our every step. Sendoh saw her cheering the team on while we played against Ryonan in a practice game. When we won against them, Sendoh clapped me in the back and told me this: _'Take care of her, all right?'_

Tch. What does he know?

She never asked me those stupid questions the way the school reporter always does. She also never screamed cheers at me when I practice or play. She just looks at me from the sidelines and gives me a thumbs-up and a smile.

She would answer questions that I never voiced out. I never told her anything. Yeah right. Like I even have to. She always understood, it's creepy. But I like it.

And she also helped me study. The teachers were surprised to see I passed. She smiled again when she found out. She smiles a lot. I wish I did too, but my facial muscles seem like they don't know how to.

I walk her home every day. I don't know since when but I was afraid those idiotic thugs would go after her again. I won't let them. And I have been going to her house on Saturdays too. Its boring at home, and Watanabe-san's cooking is better than overcooked instant ramen in my kitchen. Koji even asked me to help him train in basketball if I had nothing to do. I agreed. After all, it is still doing something I like, playing ball.

And I guess I can admit it now. I like being with Reika.

* * *

**Author's Babbles:**

Lotsa babbles on this one!

"My heart to joy at the same tone; And all I loved, I loved alone" – Alone, by Edgar Allan Poe

thanks to Bet You Loved That (one of 's most notorious critics coughflamercough) for the 'ice prince' nickname..'

**to emma**: your idea sounds fantastic! Too bad I can't use it on this...u see, this fic is actually finished. I'm just reediting some parts and...well..waiting for more reviews (to be assured that anyone is reading this ') before I update... u can use it on ur own fic though! Then it will be my turn to read n rview u! I'm sure u'll do great! :D

many thanks to **angel-leigh** (fellow Kapuso..harhar) , **mistressKC** and all the others...! After 'bet you loved that's' review, well, let's just say she didn't particularly encourage me to continue..mwehehehe..

The fic is nearly done...yay!

Gomen gomen if the chronological patterns are somewhat jumbled..! I'll try to rearrange them later..

Oh, and I couldn't resist putting in a Ryota/Ayako side story...poor guy...! Obvously, I invented (and exaggerated a little) the number of times he asked Aya-chan out.

Can anybody tell me whatAyako's last name is?? It's not really essential to the fic, but I really do wanna know. To the angels who know the answer..mail them to me onegaishimasu! Mucho arigatou!

As you might have noticed, I'm not very fond of Haruko...so I didn't give her much of a role in this..harhar..

Read and review onegaishimasu!

Til next chapter!


	8. Snow

UNSPOKEN CHAPTER 8 

-endymion-

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

Rukawa and Reika's bond had been tightened to an inseparable link. One cannot be seen without the other, and both seemed to be happy with each other. She gained a friend and so did he. People began to think if there was something going on between them. Reika laughs it off while Rukawa ignores them. They had each other. That's what counted. They were fine hanging out together and playing numerous one-on-ones. Other than their being with each other's company, nothing seems to have changed. Reika was still open and friendly, and is still sporting a motormouth. Kaede was still quiet, grumpy and amazing in basketball. 

This went on for a few months but then things started to change…

* * *

_Reika watched Rukawa ride away before going back inside the house. The rookie walked her home that day after practice and stayed for dinner again. Kaede was a regular in Reika's house. Reika's mother did not mind, she even seemed to enjoy the company. And besides, she was almost always not home for the past month. _

_Reika walked back into the house with a satisfied smile. _

"_Reika?" Mrs. Watanabe called from her office before Reika could go up to her room. "Come in her for a sec."_

_Puzzled, she walked into her mother's office. "Kaasan? What is it?"_

_Her mother was seated behind her desk, reading the contents of a manila folder. Whatever it was, it did not seem to be pleasing her._

"_Your results came in today," Mrs. Watanabe said without looking up, her face grim. _

_Reika's heart skipped a beat. "And?"_

_Mrs. Watanabe sighed. "You'd better sit down."_

_Reika shut the door behind her before heeding her mother's advice. A heavy feeling in her stomach told her she wasn't going to like this news.

* * *

_

It was nearly Christmas. Autumn came and went and was now replaced by winter. Everyone in Shohoku High talked and laughed and looked excited.

Everyone except Reika.

Rukawa was on the rooftop, sitting with her, as usual. He was quiet. Nothing surprising about that. What was bothering him was her silence.

She was holding a book on her lap, a new one. _The Five People You Meet In Heaven, _read the title. But she wasn't reading it; she was just staring at it like it held the answers to the greatest mysteries of the universe.

Rukawa turned down the volume of his Walkman. "Reika?"

She didn't answer. She didn't seem to have heard him. Rukawa reached over and poked her shoulder. Startled, she tore her green gaze away from the paperback. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

Reika forced a smile. One that didn't reach her eyes. "It's nothing."

Rukawa wondered how 'nothing'could change someone so quickly.

* * *

For the following weeks, Reika looked like the only lonely face in the crowd. And it was unusual to see her look so down or stay quiet. She wasn't her usual _genki_(cheerful)self. She had gone to school looking depressed and went home the same way. She refused Rukawa's offer to walk her home. She seldom came up to the rooftop with him. And when she did, she just usually stares off into space, consumed in her own thoughts or doodling on her journal instead of babbling. She became very quiet during practice, instead of egging everyone to do their best. 

Then she stopped going to the practices.

* * *

_Ayako checked her wristwatch. "Where on earth is she?"Anzai-sensei would be joining the team's practice today, and Ayako wanted him to see Reika at work._

"_Who?" Haruko asked, turning toward her senior. _

"_Reika."_

"_Oh," the younger girl replied flatly. She had been feeling awkward towards Reika, because of the latter girl's affinity with Rukawa. "I haven't seen her since lunch period."_

_Ayako turned to Rukawa. "Rukawa?"_

_The boy shrugged. _

"_Mitsui?"_

"_Gomen ne, Aya-chan. Haven't seen her either."

* * *

_

Then she stopped hanging with Rukawa…

* * *

_Reika, sitting on her usual seat, was gathering her things and replacing them inside her bag. A dark shadowsuddenly came over her. She looked up._

"_Iku.(Let's go.)"_

"_Rukawa," she said, upon seeing the rookie. He had become used to waiting for her so that they climbed up to the rooftop togethe during lunch period. "Why don't you go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."_

_Rukawa went up to the rooftop alone, cranking up the volume of his Walkman. Reika's absence made the surroundings very quiet; something he was no longer used to since the two of them started hanging with each other._

_So he waited. And waited. _

_But she never came.

* * *

_

…and anyone else altogether one week before the Holiday Break. She rarely talked to anyone unless absolutely needed.

Few people cared enough to wonder and worry about her, and Rukawa was one of them.

Tension was running high in the Shohoku Gym that afternoon. They are going to play against Ryonan Team tomorrow for a spot on the semi-finals. Normally, Reika would be going around, psyching everyone up for the big game with her chatter and cheerfulness.

'_Apparently, this isn't a normal day,' _Mitsui thought, observing the green-eyed girl who was quietly noting down the team's statistics and progress on a clipboard. Then he glanced at Rukawa and caught him looking over at Reika. The girl rarely came to practices nowadays, and no one seems to know why.

Try as the rookie might in denying it, Mitsui knew there was something going on between them. He knew Ayako noticed it too. Heck, everyone was actually gossipping about the two of them. They were always found together, of _course _rumors were going to spread.

"Having trouble with your girlfriend?" Mitsui asked Rukawa as they faced off in the court in a practice game.

Rukawa blinked, his way of showing surprise. He tightened his defense against Mitsui. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Isn't she?"

Mitsui flashed him a triumphant grin as he broke through Rukawa's defense and scored a perfect three-pointer.

"I think she is," Mitsui told him. "Or maybe, she should be."

* * *

Kanagawa Gym, Shohoku vs. Ryonan. Halftime break. 

"Okay, what exactly is wrong with this picture?" Ryota demanded, highly agitated that his team wasn't performing as good as he had expected. True, they were only a goal behind Ryonan but that could cost them the game, and the semi-finals. The game was half over. The whole team was in the locker room before the second half begins. "Remember, team. This is a do-or-die situation. We couldn't afford to let our concentration lag," Ryota glared at Rukawa as he said this comment."We have to give this game averything, got it?"

The team chorused "Hai" before they started to walk outside.

Rukawa cursed angrily at himself. How could his game be off today, of all days?

Well…he knew precisely how. Watanabe didn't show up at the game for the first time.

"Rukawa."

He turned around. "Mitsui-sempai."

"Look," Mitsui looked him in the eye. He went straight to the point. "I know you're worried about her. We all are. But don't let it ruin the game for us. She trained the others so we could go to the Interhigh. She helped you with your grades so you'd be able to play. Don't let all our efforts go to waste. You know we're counting on you a lot."

"I know," Rukawa said monotonously.

"You can worry about her later, when we already won," Mitsui clapped the rookie's shoulder and went on ahead. "Ganbatte."

Before the second half started, Sendoh called out to him.

"Oi, Rukawa," he said and pointed up towards the bleachers. With his gaze, he followed where Sendoh's finger was pointing. Reika was there, on her way to take a seat at the back.

Rukawa made up his mind. He would have to talk to her. Immediately.

* * *

It was a very close game, but thankfully, they won. But the euphoria of winning was very short-lived for the rookie. Once they were out of the Kanagawa Gym, all his worries settled back within him once more. 

He tried looking for her after the game but she was nowhere to be found.

Today was the last day before the Holiday Break. He never got the chance to talk to her alone, and he really wanted to ask her in private. The whole damn school was always filled with people. Very noisy people. Girls mostly. Giggly girls.

He rode his bike, unsure where he would go. He didn't want to go home just yet. Usually, he'dgo to Reika's place for dinner, but he just couldn't show up there now. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be too happy to see him.

Finally he decided to go to the public court and play. He had a few extra hours to kill. He could drain himself of all the energy he had before going home and collapse in bed. He wouldn't have to think of her then.

He should've known she would be there too.

Reika was there in the public court by herself, shooting hoops. Earphones of a Walkman were shoved in her ear, and her face was red, probably from playing so vigorously.

Now was his chance. "Reika!" he called.

When she heard his voice, she froze but didn't look his way. She dropped the ball she was playing with instead, and started to run for her skateboard.

Rukawa caught up to her quickly. He grabbed her wrist and held tight. "What's wrong, Reika?"

"Let me go," she replied coldly, not looking at him and trying to pull away.

"No," Rukawa tightened his grip on her wrist.

"You're hurting my wrist."

"No."

"I _said _let me go, dammit!"

"Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing, let me go!"

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" he exploded. All his frustrations were too much to bottle up any more. "You're fucking avoiding me, aren't you?! And I don't like it! Why won't you tell me?"

Silence.

"Answer me!"

"BECAUSE I'M FUCKING _DYING_, THAT'S WHY!" she exploded too, angry tears spilling onto her cheeks as she glared at him. "Are you happy now?!"

It took a while before the words could sink in. "Wh..what?"

"I'm dying," Reika choked out.

There was a stunned silence between them, and the wind whistling was all they heard. Words failed Rukawa again. Shock prevented him from thinking coherently. His hand loosened around her wrist. She took the opportunity to get away from him. She ran to get her board and skated away before he had a chance to stop her.

Rukawa was left there, a terrible feeling he couldn't explain gripping his heart.

* * *

That night, Rukawa lay on his bed, thinking about Reika and how he really felt about her, music blaring loudly in his ears. He wanted to think that she was only kidding. But Reika wouldn't joke about something as serious as this. Would she? And it would be the perfect explanation as to why she was avoiding everyone. 

Of course he was shocked; someone he actually knew was going to die. If any one of his team mates was dying, he would've been shocked too. But how come knowing _she_ was dying made him feel this horrible? He felt so bad, it was actually painful.

The phone rang and broke his train of thought.

"Hai, Rukawa desu," he grumbled into the ? It's Reika." Rukawa's eyes widened as he heard her now-familiar voice. He sat up immediately. She sounded funny, though. Like she had been crying.

"What?"

"I'm sorry for calling so late," she said quietly. "And I'm sorry for raging on you like that. It wasn't fair."

"Don't worry 'bout it."

"Would you…meet me tomorrow at the train station? I'll be there at 9 am."

"Why?"

"Would you meet me? Would you?"

Rukawa knew he wouldn't get a straight answer from her tonight. "All right. I'll meet you tomorrow."

"Thank you. Good night," she murmured before hanging up.

Her face was the last thing on his mind before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

**Reika's Journal Friday 8:47 p.m. December 17**

It's finally happened.

What do I do now? I'm so stupid. I should've known this would happen , but _no_I insisted on making friends. Now I don't even know how I feel about _him_ anymore.

Oh god… I'm turning to _such _a cheeseball!

Mom is making the final arrangements. This new job is a dream come true for her. I'm happy for her and I know it's going to be good for us, especially me because of all the superb doctors abroad but…what about my life here in Japan? What about Aya-chan and Mi-chan? What about…what about Rukawa?

_Arrrrgghhh!!!_ Its just so unfair!

This past couple of weeks I distanced myself from everyone. But Rukawa…damn him. I tried to get as far away from him as possible. I even stopped going to practices and on the rooftop just so I wouldn't have to talk to him. I attended the last practice because it was right before the semi-finals. I went to the Ryonan-Shohoku game but only for a bit. I don't think he saw me, though. I was on the bleachers, and I left immediately. But he found me afterwards in the outdoor court. I wasn't able to help myself then. I asked him to come with me tomorrow…you know what date tomorrow is. I can't help thinking that it was a bad idea. I want to call him and cancel, but he might be asleep by now. And I know for a fact that he loves his sleep. I don't want to be a bother.

This is getting too depressing. I think I'll just skip dinner (with Mom's new clients) and go straight to sleep.

Reika

* * *

It was a cold, dreary day. First snowfall of the season. 

Reika stood in front of the train station, listening to her Walkman. She tightened her fur-lined leather trench coat around her as she waited.

Rukawa arrived eight minutes late.

"Where are we going?" he asked upon arrival.

Reika handed him his ticket, without her usual greetings. "To Honshu," she replied. She didn't seem the least bit agitated with his lateness, but she didn't crack a smile either.

They got on their train and sat side by side. Rukawa didn't mind when she slipped her arm into his and stared blankly ahead. She didn't say a single word, but she held his hand the whole way. Some of the passengers were watching them, surprised to see that Rukawa was out in public, holding hands with a girl and _not_ asleep.

The bus dropped them off a few hours later. Reika had stopped by a flower shop to buy a bunch of daisies. Then they visited a shrine, where they knelt in silent prayer for some time.

After that, she went to the burial ground behind it. She laid the flowers neatly on one of the graves, which said 'Watanabe Makoto'. She knelt down on the snow and touched the marker.

The two of them then went inside a cottage Reika had rented for the afternoon. They sat in front of the fire with mugs of steaming coffee together.

"Why did you bring me here?" Rukawa asked suddenly.

She stared at the roaring fire, the flames reflecting in her green eyes. She hugged her knees to her chest. "That grave we visited…it is my dad's."

Rukawa looked at her, mildly surprised.

"He died six years ago," she went on softly. "He loved basketball, just like me and Koji. He taught us all we know. I've been playing ever since I learned to walk. He was the one who took care of us, and stayed with us every time mom went all over the country. She's a costume and set designer for a movie company you see. She and her company went to different locations.

"My dad died because of cancer. Apparently, cancer ran in our blood.

"I got mine a year ago. It was a tumor in the brain. I was operated on, and was subjected to chemotherapy," at this point, Reika ran her fingers through her hair and fumbled with something on her nape. Rukawa was astounded when she pulled at her scalp, and it came off easily. Reika was wearing a wig. Her head was bald, with only bristly hairs that were starting to grow.

"We moved here to Kanagawa because my mom said the climate would be good for my recovery," Reika said. "But I had to continue my medication. I'm absent from class every Friday because I go to the hospital.

"I didn't want to tell anyone of my condition. I didn't want their pity. I didn't need it. And I thought I was going to get better."

"But you _are_ getting better," Rukawa cut in. Reika smiled at him sadly.

"There's a new one growing, and it's growing in a more delicate place. The doctors said if they didn't do the operation right, they might damage the brain, and I might get into a coma. Or they might affect the part that is responsible for my motor nerves. I might not be able to walk or move again.

"I came here to say goodbye to my dad," Reika said, her voice growing softer. She looked up at Rukawa and took a deep breath. "And I brought you with me so I can say goodbye to you too."

"What are you talking about?" Rukawa's eyes flashed at that. "You're not going to die!"

"We're moving Kaede," Reika look into his blue eyes. She loved his eyes. They used to be so clouded over, but she noticed how they changed They had become cleared up little by little as they spent more time together.

He was astonished, partly because of the look of sadness in her eyes and partly because she had said his given name for the first time. "To the U.S. for good."

"What?"

"My mother was offered a spot on the production set in Hollywood. The offer was to good to pass up so she accepted. She said, with the money she'd earn there, she could afford to get a brilliant surgeon to take care of my tumor. We won't have to worry about housing and our Visa because the company was going to provide for us."

Tears flooded her eyes and she looked away as one by one they started to roll down her cheeks silently.

Rukawa felt a gnawing pit in his stomach as he watched her cry. As if by instinct, he reached out both his arms and hugged her to him. He held her tightly as she trembled and cried. Where this instinct came from, he didn't know, but it all came naturally, even though he never hugged anyone this way before. He had never felt so strongly towards a person. And a female too for that matter. She was important to him. He didn't want her to cry like this. He didn't want her to leave him.

As he felt her tears soak the front of his shirt, he realized this was much more familiarity and acquaintanceship. Much more than friendship.

But how can he tell her? _What _would he tell her? He had never been good at expressing his feelings. Especially personal ones. _And what do you call this feeling anyway?_

Then she pulled back form him and wiped away her tears. "I'm s-s-sorry for b-breaking down like that…" she apologized shakily.

He touched her face and traced the line of her jaw, tilting her head up so he looked straight into her eyes. "Reika…" his voice trailed off. The words wouldn't come. '_Damn it all! How the hell do I tell her?' _he thought, cursing himself.

But Reika understood what he wanted to say just by looking into his ocean blue eyes. Three words that she understood without having to hear them.

"No…no…no, no, no, no!!!" she cried, looked away again and brushed off his hand. "This is going to make everything more complicated!"

"Why?"

"Coz I…coz I… Oh god… I can't…" she broke off because she couldn't bring herself to say it. '_This is too cheesy for my blood!'_ she thought, incredulous in spite of the tender moment. Instead she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "Spend Christmas with me…please…"

"All right," Rukawa whispered in her ear as she lay within his arms.

_"Snow hides everything  
__Beneath sleek whiteness  
__About an unspoken love…"_

* * *

Author's Babbles: 

One last chapter to go!

Lotsa cheese in this chapter, I know…feel free to gag! harhar..if anyone took the time to read my profile, I said I'm a hopeless romantic.

The above haiku is entitled _Winter_ written by yours truly, especially for this fic.

Gomen ne, I don't have a medical degree, soReika's condition might be a little too farfetched and ridiculous. But it is possible...isn't it..?

Comments? Violent reactions? Pls tell me what you guys think! I won't be accepting any more suggestions, coz the fic is done with…it just needs a little polishing. Harhar..

Next up: the final chapter! Kaede and Reika's Christmas together!

(almost in time for Christmas in the real world too.. ';)

til next chappie!


	9. End?

CHAPTER 9: End? 

-endymion-

-_Disclaimer: Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue, IT Planning, Toei Animation and all that crap. Put bluntly, they're not mine. Enjoy!_-

* * *

"Kampai!" 

The members of the Watanabe family and their regular guest, Rukawa Kaede sat around the dining table, with their glasses raised.

"Meri Kurismasu, kaasan," Reika kissed her mother's cheek, when they lowereed their glasses. Then she turned Koji, who was busy tinkering with his new camera. "Meri Kurismasu, little brat."

"Meri Kurismasu, Reika-chan," Watanabe-san grinned at her daughter. "And to you too, Rukawa-kun."

"Meri Kurismasu," he replied, his voice as flat and emotionless as ever. Reika laughed at the irony of it all.

"Let's eat!" Koji exclaimed, raising his silverwair and licking his lips.

Reika and Rukawa spent their Christmas Eve in their own way. He went to her house as he promised. They had eaten the dinner Mrs. Watanabe had cooked up for them. Mrs. Watanabe even got Rukawa to pose for a picture (though he just stood there with his usual blank expression). She wanted to challenge him to another one-on-one, but the cold of the snow prevented them from doing so.

She had decided to have fun for the time being. She even came to watch the Shohoku team's matches in the Winter IH Tournaments while going out with Rukawa in the process, making them grow closer than ever. It won't do her any good to mope anyway. They finally admitted to the others that, yes, they _were_ dating. But they didn't tell anyone about what was and is going to happen to Reika. They didn't need nor want to know that, anyway. Reika said so herself.

The papers were sent in the night before. They'll be on their way to the US before the next term starts.

Reika heard the front door open and her mother speaking on her mobile phone. Reika went to find her, Rukawa following her not far behind.

Her mother had just hung up. She dropped the phone in her purse, picked up her portfolio and started to walk into the garage.

"Ka-san? Where are you going?" Reika asked her.

"I have an emergency meeting. I'm going to spend the night in a hotel so don't wait up. Any problems, call me," she got into her car, donning her seatbelt.

"But mom—!" Reika started.

"You be good!" she called from the window before driving away.

Reika sighed. "It's Christmas Eve," she finished weakly to no one in particular.

Rukawa took her hand and led her to the wooden swing on the front porch. They sat down on it together.

He shifted in his seat. She had given him his Christmas gift (a collection of their favorite songs), but he hadn't given hers yet. Reika looked up at him, wondering what was wrong.

"For you," he said in the same monotonous tone she had grown to love. He held out a long, thin velvet box to her. She took it and opened it.

She sucked in her breath. "Kaede…"

It was a silver charm bracelet. There were miniature charms of a bicycle a skateboard, a basketball, a maple leaf, a book, a snowflake, an angel and the Katakana character of _ai. _Love.

Each of the charm symbolised something. Reika didn't know Kaede remembered all these. They first met when his bicycle and her skateboard collided. Basketball is one of their common loves. The maple leaf must've symbolised that time in autumn when he lent her his jacket. The book was either for her love of novels, or all those study sessions together. The snowflake…of course it was for that time in the cottage. The angel and the character didn't need explanations. Reika smiled up at him as he put it on her wrist.

"It's beautiful, Kaede, thank you," she murmured. She loved saying his name, how it slides off her tongue with perfect ease Kaede loved to hear it too. It was as if his name seemed naturally beautiful when she said it.

Rukawa put one of the earphones in his ear and gave the other to Reika who did the same. There was a slow song playing. First Love by Utada Hikaru. The two of them listened to the soft strains of the songs in their familiar silence for a few minutes. Both of them hardly listened to sentimental stuff but, right now, the song just felt right. He draped an arm around her shoulders and she laid her head on his chest, inhaling the scent of his cologne.

Suddenly, he turned down the volume the Walkman. "Can't you stay?" he asked in a soft voice neither of them knew he possessed.

"You know I can't," she said wistfully, her eyes closed. "I have no one to stay with."

"You can stay with me," he said, not caring how ridiculous it sounded. All he wanted was for Reika to stay in Kanagawa. For Reika to stay with him.

Reika looked up at him, eyebrow raised. The same expression she had the first time he saw her. "As if anyone will approve of _that!_ And I can't leave Koji alone with mom. She'll be too busy to take care of him." then she turned her gaze up to the stars. "Come with me…"

Rukawa shook his head. "My promise to Anzai-sensei."

"Best player in Japan right?" Reika sighed yet again. "Well do it fast, then come straight to America. I'll wait for your appearance in the NBA."

"OK."

She grinned coyly at him, half-joking. Rukawa gave a very rare, very prized sort-of small smile back. Seeing him smile like that made Reika's eyes brim with tears. Their gazes met and held, and she found her face being drawn nearer and nearer to his…

He had given her the best Christmas present ever, and it wasn't the bracelet.

Then he kissed her beneath the mistletoe…on Christmas Eve.

"Merry Christmas…"

* * *

**Reika's Journal Thursday 1:26 pm (American Time) January16**

Well, here I am in America. In Hollywood L.A. to be precise. We've been here for around a two weeks already and we're trying to get used to the new country. The new culture. Right now, I'm writing this as I sit in my hospital bed. Kaasan got her advance paycheck yesterday so I checked in today. Our new house isn't very big but its ok, I guess. Mom said my health was our first priority. Can't argue with that. I'll be confined here for a few weeks. They're going to run a few tests on me then I'll be having my surgery soon, and then I'll go through chemotherapy again. I _shudder _at the very thought.

It's kind of hard to adjust because they all speak English and I don't speak it that well. I can read English as well as the next person. That much I can. I just can't seem to make my Japanese-born tongue to cooperate with the language.

It's really weird too, because they all look so different from me.

You know, it had been the best and worst Christmas in my life. I can't really explain it, but…well, you know.

The photo in the back flap of my journal? Koji took it. Can you believe that? That bratty little squirt took photos of me and Rukawa sitting in the front porch! He is such an idiot!. He even caught our kiss on film! It's so embarrassing! But in the end he gave them to me, saying it really grosses him out. But I know it is his Christmas present for me. Well..he can be a brat, but I do love him.

Anyway, I sent Ayako, Haruko and Mi-chan a letter explaining to them what happened and telling them where I had gone. But I sent something radical to Rukawa for his birthday. I just hope he gets it in time. I saw him last at the train station before we went to the airport in Tokyo. And I really hope I meet him here soon. In fact, I have the feeling we will meet again. Someday…

Oh, the nurse is here. I'll write again later.

Reika

* * *

**RUKAWA (playing in public court)**

She just left the day before. Right after our winning Championship match. She watched the whole game on the bench, beside Ayako and Anzai-sensei. Her presence drove me to lead the team. She was so happy when we won (she was jumping up and down like a complete lunatic and she kept hugging everyone in sight), and I know she felt the opposite when I saw her off in the train station, even though she tried to hide it. She said they'd be going to the airport in Tokyo.

_"…This is the train station."_

_"Yep"_

_"What are we doing here?"_

_"Well I…'_hesitates'_…I don't want you to see me leave. Really leave. Does that make sense to you?"_

_"…No."_

'laughs'_ "I didn't think so. Didn't make sense to me either. But…its just how I feel. If you see me off the airport…it feels so final. I can't explain it. I don't have to, do I?"_

_"No. I understand."_

'smiles'_ "I know you do."_

_silence_

_"Well. This is it."_

_"…"_

'swallows hard then smiles sadly'_ "Goodbye then, Kaede."_

'takes her hand' _"I…"_

'hugs him'_ "You don't have to say it. I know."_

_"…Goodbye then…Reika…"_

I can't believe my luck. I finally meet someone who I'm satisfied with and then _Poof!_ She's gone.

Can anyone get unluckier?

Well I guess the _aho_ can, but that's beside the point. And he doesn't seem as unlucky as he was before because he's doing much better on the team now and he's actually going out with some girl. Ayako-sempai's assistant. And speaking of Ayako, she's going out with our captain.

What? Don't look at me like that. I _do _notice these stuff, you know. I may be one-worded, I may always be groggy with sleep but I'm not friggin _blind. _I just don't like to point out the obvious. I don't like to talk either. Good thing Reika never coerced me into talking.

……..

This is stupid. Its boring playing alone in the courts. Funny isn't it? Before, I really didn't mind playing by myself. I choose to play alone. In fact, I choose to do everything else alone. But she was such good company. She kept teasing me and blabbering about something or another, but I didn't mind that either. She'd blabber about things with sense anyway, not just stupid blabber. It kept the mood light and me…happy.

_Again_ with the look. I am perfectly capable of being happy, OK? My facial muscles just can't seem to show it.

I hate her. I hate her because she's a good player. I hate her because she butted into my life without notice and left the same way. I hate her because she made me get used to having her around so now I miss her. I hate her because she was making me fall for her. I hate her because I _did_ fall for her and now I love her. I would have been better off not knowing her.

……

What am I saying? That would be lying. I don't like lying.

I know I'll never ever forget her. And I know she knows that too.

And I _will _meet her again. I have to.

I promised her that didn't I?

**(shoots three pointer)

* * *

**

Christmas break was over. Time to go back to school. Rukawa Kaede sat in his usual seat before his eyes wandered to the seat Reika had once occupied. He was kind of used to see it empty. After all, she _did _have quite a few absences. But this time, he knew it was different. She won't be back in a few days, all _genki_ and snotty and annoying. At break time he went up to the rooftop and found it too quiet. He zoned out on all of his classes again but he didn't fall asleep. Not even once. It was a record for him.

The class was buzzing with the news. Reika had dropped out.

He got through the whole first day still getting used to the fact that Reika Watanabe wasn't there anymore to chatter a mile a minute, or challenge him to another game, and look at him with that beautiful, perpetual smile she had.

His classmates kept looking over at him while they whispered amongst themselves. Gossiping about him and Reika, no doubt. The Oendan Girls were ready to throw a party. Besides that, everything was back to normal. Too normal.

Finally, it was time for basketball training again. Mitsui-sempai had given him a knowing smile earlier. Ayako asked him if he was all right, and told him that Reika had written to her and Mitsui.

"I'm sorry she had to go," Ayako said before they started training. Ayako was one of the few girls he talked to, being his former schoolmate and all. He nodded and thanked her for her concern.

Other than that, his teammates had pretty much kept away from him, assuming he was in a rather sensitive mood, though they were not sure why. So he was surprised when one of them approached him, once they were alone in the locker room.

"_Anou_, Rukawa-kun, this was left for you a minute ago," he stammered, holding out a package sealed tight. His name and the school's address were printed outside with black marker but there was no indication about who sent it.

He took it and mumbled thanks. The nervous teammate left the room. Rukawa tore off the packing tape and looked inside. There was a display skateboard in it. It was smaller than the ones she uses.

A message was painted on its surface.

It was from Reika, and he knew it. He read it anyway, though he didn't need to.

_"Kaede,_

_Doing good. Hope you're fine. Belated happy birthday. Wish you were here. Take care. Good luck!_

_with love from Reika"_

Rukawa pulled it out of the package. As he did, something fluttered to the ground. He bent down to pick it up. It was a photo of him and Reika together on the their front porch, Christmas Eve. They were sharing the Walkman. He was looking in a very tender way he didn't know he was capable of. She was holding his hand, smiling sadly up at him.

…..

He'd have to hide this from his teammates, or else they'd tease him into oblivion until he cracks.

He could still feel her warmth. He held the Polaroid between his fingers and gazed at it intently. She was gone for barely a week but he missed her terribly.

Then he placed both items in his locker carefully and shut it with a slam.

He walked toward the gym, where the Ryonan team awaited for a practice game, as images of the simple times he and Reika shared flashed through his mind with each step he took. He remembered how she talked to him, how she shut up when she knew something was up, how she smiled and how she laughed. How she always raised an eyebrow when he wasn't listening to her tutoring and when he does something stupid. How she grinned when she found out that he passed his subjects. How she said out loud what was in his thoughts. How his name sounded so differently when she said it. How she cried…how she trembled as she sobbed in his arms…How her lips felt when they shared those kisses on Christmas Eve. How tightly she held onto him, as though she never wanted to let go of him before she boarded the train. How she looked when she tried to hold back those tears as she waved him goodbye from the train station. How he wanted her to stay. How satisfied he felt when she was around.

Nobody knew about what happened between them. Nobody knew what went on when they were together but it didn't matter.

Neither of them spoke out loud how they felt, because they didn't need to.

'_The whole school might forget all about her,' _he thought as they played in the game, Sendoh marking him with that cocky grin of his. '_But I won't_.'

With that thought, he evaded Sendoh and slammed the ball into the ring.

_-Owari-

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Author's Babbles:

Sobs…it's finished finally!

I originally wanted to kill Reika but…I just didn't have the heart. ' And can you guys _actually _see Rukawa as the weepy, mourning type? Don't think so.

"_Those kisses on Christmas Eve" _… well…they kind of had a fierce makeout session that night, but I didn't put it in anymore. It'd spoil the drama..teehee..

Thank you so much to all those who read this. And of course to all those who reviewed! Much love to everyone!

Anyone want a happy ending for the two of 'em? I'm thinking of putting up an epilogue. A one-shot sequel of their reunification. What dyou think..?

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

Peace! Advanced Meri Kurismasu, minna! Take it easy now!


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